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Medical Emergencies Without Insurance
How to Get the Help You Need Without Going into Debt
By Teri Brown
Dr. Risa Lavizzo-Mourey, CEO of The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, believes that there is help for most uninsured children, if not their parents. The foundation's Covering Kids & Families national initiative aims to increase the number of children and adults who benefit from low-cost and free health care coverage through the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) and Medicaid.
"There is help for most uninsured kids," Dr. Lavizzo-Mourey says. "Most of the nation's uninsured children are eligible for low-cost and free health care coverage. Every state in the country offers low-cost or free health care coverage for infants, children, teens and, in some states, even adults. Many working families with low-to-moderate incomes are eligible for the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) or Medicaid. Although eligibility varies by state, many families earning up to $36,000 a year or more may qualify for low-cost or free children's health care coverage."
Dr. Lavizzo-Mourey cautions parents not to assume that they are not eligible if they have a job. "These programs are there to help working families," she says.
The Nunezes' surgery ended up costing almost $5,000. There were bills from the emergency room, the hospital where the surgery was done, the surgeon and the anesthesiologist. The Nunezes explained to the hospital that they didn't have insurance and would have to pay the bills themselves. "They weren't happy about it, but what can you do?" Nunez says. "I called them all and toldthem how much we would be paying them each month. For some, all we could afford was $5 a month, but we paid it religiously. If you get behind they can send you to collections."
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