I don't know about other states, but I did want to let the members here know to check into insurance that their state may offer, especially if you have a child that needs a lot of medication or has many doctor visits. So often we think that health insurance provided by an employer is best, but in our particular case, it is not.

DH had health insurance at his old job and SD was on that insurance. He paid maybe $15-$20 a month for her coverage, but at the time she didn't really have any health issues.

Right after our wedding, DH lost his job. (Literally - the week he went back to work, they laid him off - Ugh!) We did the whole COBRA thing (super expensive) and looked into other possibilities. I have always been self employed so I'm used to looking for individual coverage. I was literally on DH's policy from his old job for 1 week and then we had to go to Cobra!!

So I started looking. New York State has something called CHILD HEALTH PLUS for all children in New York State. There are income limits, but they are only used to determine your premium. If you make over the income limits, that just means you pay the full premium for the policy, as opposed to a portion. If you make less than the limit, then you pay proportionately less.

The coverage is fantastic! No co-pays at all. No doctor co-pays. No prescription co-pays. This has been a lifesaver for us because SD started therapy last year and has been going once a week for a year now. She also is on 2 medications to assist with her therapy and getting her over depression. We were hoping she'd come off one, but she's in a new phase now of therapy so she cannot. So right now, we pay $176 a month for her Child Health Plus health insurance, but it is completely worth it because I'm sure the therapist visits could be at least $80 - $120 a month depending on any kind of co-pay. We are asking BM to pay her half of that $176.

But I digress. My whole point of this blog is because I see so many women struggling with health insurance costs for the kids and arguing with BM's, etc. over same.

If you have something like this in your state, it may be worth it to check out the cost of the premium vs. the cost you would spend on meds, doctor visits etc.