I adopted a baby after a year in foster care and she is qualified to be on medicaid until the age of 18 due to her being born with narcotics in her system (qualifies her as special needs). Should I add her to my Blue Cross policy or is the medicaid sufficient for her medical needs? Is there any difference in coverage depending on where we are? We live in Alabama. If she gets sick in another state, is she covered?
Judith
You should add her to your BC policy and let welfare know so that they will know that Medicaid is now secondary. It's possible that they would require you to cover her on your BC policy anyway since in doing so it would become your child's primary insurer. Medicaid (the secondary insurer) would then pay what isn't covered by BC; which means that the taxpayers won't be footing the entire bill.
Also you will find more providers who will accept BC; many providers do not accept Medicaid patients.
Evan
If she is eligible for medicaid, you might not be able to add her to your plan, every state is different about this. Honestly if she is a year old, medicaid is the best option because your getting it at no direct cost to you and its covering the same thing your major medical would. However as she gets older, your going to want to have her on your blue cross.
lucy
Medicaid only pays in your state and (only) to doctors/hospitals that accept Medicaid, which maybe difficult to find since they pay so little.
If, for instance baby gets sick in another state, and (if) it is deemed not a medical emergency, then Medicaid would not pay, and you could be on the hook for any medical costs.
I suggest you add her to your BC.
Casey Y
Medicaid doesn't leave the state.
If you can afford the BSBS premiums, I would go that route. Medicaid is basically charity care...which isn't going to be nearly as good as a paid policy.
StephenWeinstein
Add her. Medicaid doesn't cover anything out of state. It also doesn't cover most doctors in-state. Blue Cross is much more widely accepted.