HIPP for Kids - Money for Parents!

My state Medicaid organization has done their best to keep a secret, a secret about a program that will reimburse parents for some or all of an enrollee’s share of employer sponsored group health insurance premiums. But now the word’s out, and I bet your state has a similar program. And trust me, this program could put an extra couple of hundred dollars in your pocket each month!

The program is call HIPP (Health Insurance Premium Payment). My state also has a HIPP For Kids program that makes a family eligible if their Medicaid-covered child is under the age of 19. Here’s the blurb from my state’s website – “For the HIPP For Kids program, the Medicaid eligible must be under the age of 19, the employer must contribute at least 40% towards the cost of the health insurance premium, must offer qualified employer-sponsored health plan that qualifies as creditable coverage under the section 2701(c)(1) of the Public Health Service Act and must be offered to all individuals in a manner that would be considered nondiscriminatory eligibility. “

So, from a practical standpoint, how does this work. First, you must be covered by your employer’s health insurance program – you must have a child covered by Medicaid (and it can be secondary coverage – i.e. your insurance pays first, and then Medicaid pays).

You fill out an application – it should be on your state’s website page. The application for my state was very simple. It had some basic information about my family, and there was also a section that your employer fills out. In my state, a decision must be rendered within 45 days of the original application, and I’m betting it’s the same in your state.

Once you get the approval letter, you then have to send in copies of your pay stub showing what you paid each month for your employer sponsored health insurance. In my case, my portion of my health insurance premium payment is $220. So each month, if I send in my pay stubs, I get $220.

Easy peasy, and who couldn’t use some extra money. Heck, in my state, I am even provided envelopes for sending in my pay stubs, and I don’t have to stamp them!

Check it out!