• Free or lowcost medical insurance for our family?
• Health care for low-income baby
• Need insurance for my 2-year-old - I make too much for Medi-cal and Healthy Families

• Healthy Families Insurance
• Low-cost Dental Insurance
• No Insurance: Finding a Doctor
• Trouble Getting Health Insurance

Free or lowcost medical insurance for our family??

We'll be out of medical insurance for a year, starting August 1, 2007. I'm looking for insurance for my husband for the whole year, and for our 15-year-old until the end of December. Then he'll join me to live in a European country with a nationalized health plan. We could get cobra, but it's very pricey. We'll be 0 income, at least initially, but we do own a house (or our loan institution does) in Berkeley. This year, by the beginning of August, our 2007 income will be maximum $35,000. I'd appreciate any advice. I've tried California Healthy Families, but there's a 3-month 'no insurance' waiting period that makes me a little nervous. My husband is somewhat disabled - if that information might help. Thank you for any tips. a 'sicko' wife & mom

Health care for low-income baby

My 6 month old daughter and I will be returning to the Bay Area (living in Fremont, schooling at UCB) this August after my being away for two years. We are both US citizens, yet Sophia hasn't set foot on American soil yet. My concern is her medical care. Can't afford to pay for it and very insecure she'll get medi-cal (as I haven't the documents they request for the application). I just need to know what there is for babies of low-income families as far as getting regular check- ups, immunizations, and care for the typical baby maladies. For instance: any free clinics?

I work for a non-profit agency that supports community clinics in Contra Costa and Solano Counties. Our website, www.clinicconsortium.org, shows all of the clinics in our area. There is a very similar non-profit in Alameda County and their website, http://www.alamedahealthconsortium.org/, lists every clinic in Alameda County. For all community clinics in California, see http://www.cpca.org.

If it turns out that you are not Medi-cal eligible, another option I would highly reccomend looking into is the Kaiser Permanente Child Health Plan. The program costs only $8 to $15 per month, depending on income, and is full-fledged Kaiser health insurance with every benefit. Check out http://prospectivemembers.kaiserpermanente.org/kpweb/healthplans/ individualplans.do and click on Child Health Plan for more information. Best wishes to you in finding health care for your family. Tara

1) There are several community health centers in the Bay Area with a mission to provide health care to everyone, regardless of their ability to pay. In Oakland, you can try Clinica de la Raza or San Antonio Neighborhood Health Center. You can also try Asian Health Services or LifeLong Medical Care. (LifeLong tends to cater to older patients, but call them and they'll tell you which would be best for a baby.) All of these clinics offer a sliding scale payment structure, and your cost could be as low as $0, probably around $20.

2) Call the Alameda Public Health Department. Or go to their website. http://www.acphd.org/default.asp Public Health Depts. always offer free or low-cost vaccines, and they can point you in the right direction for a good clinic.

3) Sign your child up for Healthy Families or Medi-Cal. Your County Social Services Dept. will know how to do this. (In fact, any community health clinic will also know how you can enroll your child.) There's also another program called CHDP (Child Health and Disability Prevention Program) that your local clinics are very familiar with. CHDP will cover the costs of well-child visits. If you qualifym for CHDP (which you probably will), your baby will automatically be enrolled in Medi-Cal for two months, while you figure out the paperwork you need. If your income turns out to be too high for Medi-Cal, you will be referred to Healthy Families.

The short answer is... go to a local clinic and they'll figure out how to get permanent coverage for your baby. There are lots of resources out there. Good luck! a mom in the know about health insurance for kids

Need insurance for my 2-year-old - I make too much for Medi-cal and Healthy Families

Does anyone know how I can get low cost health insurance for my two-year-old. She had Medi-Cal but was recently denied because I now make too much money. I tried to get her healthy families but was also denied because I made like $200 more than they allowed. Then I tried to get low cost Kaiser but I am just over their financial requirements as well. I have no problem paying for health insurance I just can't pay $400/month (as my job asks to cover a dependent). I am a single mother living in Oakland and don't get regular child support from her dad. I was planning to just pay out of pocket if she needed to go to the regular doctor's but what about if she needs to go to the hospital??? has anyone been in this situation and have any ideas about what I should do? No Health Insurance jenni

(Note: the policy idea behind these plans is to make the costs of health care visible -- with traditional plans nobody asks for the list price of services, because it's covered. This plan option is not perfect - the HSA is a pointlessly awkward paperwork nightmare.).

With a healthy 2-year old, this type of plan could be really economical. Bryce N