Part of the Medicaid program in every state is designed to cover children who are from low income families. Often, it is called CHIP. Many states change the name of their CHIP to something that is friendlier. In Vermont, CHIP is called Dr. Dynasaur.
Medicaid is a public, or government run, form of health insurance. It is designed to cover individuals and families who are low income and who cannot afford to purchase a health plan from a private insurance company. Medicaid is funded, in part, by the federal government. It is also covered by the government of an individual state.
In Vermont, the Medicaid program is administered by the Vermont Department of Health Access. Every state has a CHIP program. CHIP stands for Children’s Health Insurance Program. Vermont has given their program a much friendlier name. The state calls it Dr. Dynasaur. I have not been able to discover the reason why this name was selected.
Dr. Dynasaur provides low-cost or free health coverage for children, teenagers who are under the age of 18, and women who are pregnant. Eligibility for the program is based on household income and also on family size. The household can be any configuration of adults and children. It could be two adults and one child, or one parent and two children. A pregnant woman counts as two people – herself and her baby.
The program may require monthly premiums. The amount depends upon the household income and the number of people who are in the family. There is a chart on the Dr. Dynasaur website that shows the income limitation for pregnant women, and the income limitations for children age zero through eighteen.
The monthly premium for pregnant women could range from $0.00 through $15.00. Families that want to have their child covered through the program will have monthly premiums that range from $0.00 through $60.00.
There are many health care services that are covered by Dr. Dynasaur. It covers doctor visits, prescription medicines, dental care, skin care, hospital visits, vision care, mental health care, and immunizations. It also covers special services for pregnant women, such as lab work, tests, prenatal vitamins, and more.
This means that Dr. Dynasaur is not only the CHIP program for Vermont. It is also a program that is designed to cover the health care needs of low income women who are pregnant.
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