Health Insurance & Access to Health Care Providers
**CLICK HERE for information about Children's Rights to Coverage for Pre-Existing Conditions**
El Centro
El Centro (En Espanol)
Berkeley Public Health Clinic
830 University Avenue
Berkeley, CA 94704
(510) 981-5370
Child Health and Disability Prevention Program (CHDP)
1947 Center Street, 2nd Floor
Berkeley, CA 94704
(510) 981-5294
Berkeley High School Health Center
1980 Allston Way, Room H-105
Berkeley, CA 94704
(510) 644-6965
*For students of the Berkeley High School community
Children's Rights to Coverage for Pre-Existing Conditions
Health Plan Options for Uninsured Children
Families can find coverage options on the federal government’s website at http://finder.healthcare.gov. The main federal health care website is at www.healthcare.gov.
The deadline for open enrollment for families wanting to buy insurance coverage for children with pre-existing health conditions is March 1st. Below is a summary of families' rights to this coverage for their children and I have attached additional information from the state Department of Managed Health Care.
Under last year’s Federal health care reform and recent California law, health plans can no longer deny or limit coverage to a child under 19 because of a pre-existing health condition. Health plans must offer and sell coverage to children at all times of the year, but California’s law, AB 2244, creates “open enrollment” periods during which a child (or parent on behalf of a child) can apply for coverage at a lower premium rate. AB 2244 requires that during open enrollment periods the premiums which health plans may charge are capped at no more than twice the premium for a healthy child.
The initial open enrollment period began on January 1, 2011 and ends on March 1, 2011.
After March 1, 2011, a child will have an open enrollment period every year during the month of his/her birthday. (For example, a child born on October 27, 2010 has an open enrollment period every year for the entire month of October.)
Premium costs are also lower during a “late enrollment” period, which may be available if the child or the family experiences certain major changes, such as loss of employment-sponsored coverage, loss of coverage under certain government programs, birth of a new child, or a move to California.
Families should apply for coverage for children before March 1, 2011 to take advantage of the premium cap and avoid higher premiums.