Kids and Health Care: Preventive Medicine Introduction

As we've noted, one major difference between an indemnity insurance plan and a managed care plan is the approach to preventive medicine. Under an indemnity plan, there's usually no coverage for ordinary checkups, so-called "wellness programs" or preventive treatments and therapies. Under a managed care plan, all of these preventive measures -- as well as some farther-out therapies like chiropractic treatments, acupuncture and alternative medicine -- may be covered and even encouraged.

This emphasis on preventive care is a major reason that we say managed care plans make sense for families with kids. Regular checkups are a good idea.

And, if your child has a chronic or long-term medical condition, a managed care plan will cover more of the educational components of wellness programs, so that you and your child can learn about the condition...and how to live with it.

In this chapter, we'll look at the various mechanics of preventive medicine and wellness programs -- and how they can be particularly useful for kids.