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everyone with Medicare, which may help lower prescription drug costs and help protect against higher costs in the future. Medicare Prescription Drug Coverage is insurance. Private companies provide the coverage. Beneficiaries choose the drug plan and pay a monthly premium. Like other insurance, if a beneficiary decides not to enroll in a drug plan when he/she is first eligible, he may pay a penalty if he chooses to join later.
Contact your state’s Department of Health and Human Services or visit www.cms.hhs.gov for more information about Medicaid and Medicare.
State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP)
If you are having difficulty affording health insurance coverage for your family and you do not qualify for Medicaid, the State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) may be an option for you. SCHIP is a federal government program that gives money to states to provide health insurance to families with children. The program was created in 1997 to cover health expenses for uninsured children in families whose incomes are too modest to afford health insurance but too high to qualify for Medicaid.
SCHIP is not the same in every state. Like Medicaid, SCHIP is a part- nership between federal and state governments. The programs are run by the individual states according to requirements set by the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. The law gives states sig- nificant freedom in designing their programs. Each state is allowed to choose from three options, and States are able to determine their own SCHIP eligibility requirements and policies within federal guidelines. The three options are:
1 . Medicaid Expansions: This allows states to choose to increase their current income limits for Medicaid to cover more children, for example, older children or children from families whose incomes are
Federal Resources for Health Care Coverage