Children can get insurance in New Jersey through NJ FamilyCare.
New Jersey has a health insurance program for children and some parents who are considered low income. This insurance is called NJ FamilyCare. This program is an excellent resource for parents who do not receive insurance through their employers and cannot afford to purchase decent insurance on their own. Even if the parents aren't eligible to be covered, they can feel relief in knowing that their children will receive proper medical care until the age of 18.
Who is Eligible
NJ FamilyCare covers all children whose parents' income falls within 350 percent of the federal poverty level. Parents also may qualify if their income falls within 133 percent of the federal poverty level. Applicants must be uninsured for a period of at least three months before they become eligible for NJ FamilyCare.
Income eligibility is determined by the size of the family as well as the total income, so a family of five can make more money than a family of four and still qualify for insurance. NJ FamilyCare provides an income eligibility chart for potential applicants on its website (see Resources).
HMOs Associated with NJ FamilyCare
NJ FamilyCare offers its recipients four HMO choices. They include AmeriGroup Corporation, Healthfirst NJ, UnitedHealthcare and Horizon NJ Health. Not all four HMO options are available in every New Jersey county. Parents must check the county list (see Resources) to locate the HMOs that they have to choose from. Visiting each HMO separately will help parents choose which one best fits their child's health needs.
Applying for NJ FamilyCare
Parents can apply to NJ FamilyCare in three ways. First, parents can visit their local Social Services building and apply directly from the office. A second option is to download the NJ FamilyCare application from the agency's website (see Resources), print it out, fill in the information and mail it to the address on the form. Finally, applicants can submit an online application. With all three methods, applicants must submit supporting documentation for proof of identity, proof of address and proof of all income sources.
Contacting NJ FamilyCare
Parents may find that the doctors their children need do not accept the HMO they chose when they first enrolled with NJ FamilyCare. If this happens, the parent can contact one of NJ FamilyCare's health benefits coordinators by calling 800-701-0710 and request a change in HMO. Parents may also wish to contact a health benefits coordinator to locate doctors, specialists or pharmacies within the HMO that they selected. NJ FamilyCare recommends that parents keep a record of all calls made to the health benefits coordinator. This information should include the date, time of the call and the representative to whom the parent spoke.
Tags: health benefits, benefits coordinator, falls within, falls within percent, FamilyCare Parents, federal poverty, federal poverty level
