There's money for sick children being left on the table in Maryland, as much as $10,000 per eligible child. That's the message the UnitedHealthcare Children's Foundation would like to send to families about its medical grant program, according to spokesman Ben Goldstein.
The program allows eligible families to apply to receive up to $5,000 per year — $10,000 lifetime — for a child's medical expenses such as surgeries, hearing aids, wheelchairs, or other services that are not covered or are only partially covered by their private health insurance, according to Goldstein. The grants are available to cover future medical costs and expenses incurred within 60 days prior to the date of the application.
"In terms of eligibility children must be 16 or younger, the families must meet economic guidelines, reside in the U.S. and have a commercial insurance plan," Goldstein said.
The economic guidelines are based on the applicant family's most recently filed tax return, he said, in which families of two must earn $50,000 or less; families of three, $75,000 or less; families of four, $100,000 or less; and for families of five, $125,000 or less to be eligible.
Although the UnitedHealthcare Children's Foundation is a nonprofit created by health insurer UnitedHealth Group, Goldstein said families can have an insurance plan from any insurer. The uninsured or those with Medicaid, Medicare, or other public plans are not eligible.
The UnitedHealthcare Children's Foundation was first incorporated in Maryland in 1999, according to spokesman Will Holman, expanding nationwide in 2006.
"We felt the foundation was such a valuable resource for children and families in need that we took it national, raising money from UnitedHealth Group employees and funding child medical grants in all 50 states," Holman said.
Despite more than a decade in Maryland, Goldstein said the program only handed out 75 medical grants to Maryland families in 2014. He said there is the capacity and the desire to do much more: Nationwide, the foundation has given out more than 8,500 grants worth more than $26 million since 2007.
"We are trying to get the word out through media campaign and we have a PSA," Goldstein said. "We want people to be aware that this is available to them and to apply."
For more information or to apply for a grant, go to http://www.UHCCF.org.
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