Kids and Health Care: Kids Mean Hard Choices
Having children is one of the best things that a person can do in life. But -- as you find out from the first moments you have children -- it involves hard choices on a variety of levels. You'll rethink everything from what's for dinner to how -- or whether -- you practice religion.
If you're lucky enough to have healthy children, the mechanics of health coverage are more an annoyance than a front-and-center issue. But you still need to choose well to assure your kids have the best available coverage.
And, if you and your child are challenged with health issues, you can rest a little easy that the United States has the best health care system -- and the best doctors -- in the world. However flawed our system may be, it gets that part right.
This book has aimed to spell out how the U.S. health care system applies, especially, to kids. It gives you a basic understanding of the jargon, policy forms, government plans and public policy issues that shape the kind of healthy coverage your kids -- or any kids -- can get. But the important choices will always settle back in your shoulders.
When you start a new job, you often have a choice of health insurance plans and group disability plans, as well as the option of participating in a cafeteria plan (which can include coverage for dental care, chiropractor's visits and vision care). If your company changes insurance carriers, you may be asked all these questions all over again.
You've probably also been offered insurance coverage by phone (say, from one of your credit card companies), via the mail and even over the Internet. This direct sales approach to marketing insurance of all sorts is becoming more and more common, as insurance companies try to cut costs by eliminating agents -- and their commissions -- from the sales process.
This new approach to insurance sales may make prices more affordable in the long-run (or at least keep them level). But it also means that you -- as a consumer buying insurance directly from insurance companies -- have to know more than ever about these policies.
The good news is: After reading this book, you know enough about the coverages that can work for your kids that you can ask the right questions to buy health insurance any way you see fit. This will be something that you find yourself doing more and more as the insurance industry completes its move to a self-service focus.
