For grandparents who find themselves in the role of parenting their grandchildren, one frequently reported problem is trying to obtain health insurance coverage for the grandchild as a dependent. Grandparents who like me are covered by the military’s health insurance for retirees (CHAMPUS, for example) find that grandchildren for whom they have custody and/or caregiving responsibility are not covered. In this instance, only when grandchildren are adopted by the grandparents is such coverage in force. In Kansas we are very lucky, grandparents and other relative caregivers may apply for free or low-cost health insurance on behalf of the children they are raising through Kansas’s Medicaid and HealthWave programs. In some cases, caregivers may also be eligible for free coverage under Medicaid. For more information about how to apply for these programs, call 1-800-792-4884 (TTY: 1-800-792-4292) or log on to www.kansashealthwave.org.
Other state and federal benefits may also be available to eligible children, such as child care subsidies, disability benefits, and special education services. For more information about these, download CDF’s benefit guides for grandparents and other relatives raising children at www.childrensdefense.org or call (202) 662-3568. For more information on the federal benefits that may be available to caregivers, log on to the National Council on Aging’s Benefits CheckUp website at www.benefitscheckup.org.
While Federal benefits are available to all, State benefits may vary from state to state and you should contact your local SRS for information.
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Thanks Mireille. Very useful information. One of my husband’s aunts is going through the same thing with her granddaughter. I’m going to forward this article to her.