Health Insurance For Your Child

Childhood is a happy time of running, jumping, and playing in the dirt. It's also a time of bumps, bruises, and scrapes. Sometimes all it takes is a kiss from Mom to make everything better. Other times, you have to load your little one into the car and take them to the doctor or emergency room.

To grow up happy and healthy, children need regular trips to the doctor, dentist, and other health professionals. Putting off care or waiting until small problems get worse can mean the difference between growing up healthy and having lifelong health problems.

What Kind Of Insurance Should Your Child Have?

When you get health insurance for your child, you want to find a policy that will cover as many as of your child's needs as possible. The two most popular comprehensive options are:

• Preferred Provider Organization Plans — also called PPOs
  PPO plans offer a wide range of services at reasonable prices. PPOs have “networks” of doctors, hospitals, and other care providers that provide their services at a discount to plan members. In a PPO plan, you can get care from doctors outside the provider network. But you won’t get the same amount of coverage as you would if you used an “in-network” provider.
• Health Maintenance Organization Plans — also called HMOs
  HMO plans generally offer a similar range of services, though often at a lower cost. In an HMO plan, your out-of-pocket expenses are lower. For example, a trip to the doctor will cost you less if you have an HMO plan. HMO plans are more restrictive, though. In an HMO, you receive no coverage when you see a provider outside the network. And specialist care must be approved by your Primary Care Physician. Even so, the affordability and comprehensive services of HMOs make them a good option for many people.

How Many Children Do You Need To Cover?

The number of children you have also affects the type of insurance you'll need.

When you buy health insurance, you can choose between individual health or family health policies. Individual health covers one person. Family health covers several people under one policy.

If you only to need to insure one child, an individual policy will do fine. If you need to insure more than one child — or one child and yourself — you may save money by buying a family policy. Of course, you can always buy an individual policy for each of your children.

Now that you know what to look for, how do you find insurance at a good price? Simple: shop around.

It’s hard to keep track of all the companies that sell insurance, but that’s actually a good thing. It means that you have plenty of options for choosing your child’s insurance policy. And the best way to find the right one — at the right price — is to work with an insurance agent to compare plans.

To start talking to agents, use our online service to request your health insurance quotes. We’ll match you with up to 5 agents in your area. They’ll answer your questions and help you find a policy that will give your children the coverage they need.