How will this mother pay for her children's health care?

Father of 4 children, doing pretty well for himself, making over $70,000 per year abandons homemaker wife and 4 children 10, 8, 5 and 3 years old. She has been a homemaker all throughout the marriage.


She has gets a job at making $15,000 per year but does not get health insurance from employer and really cannot afford to buy insurance on her own.





Meanwhile her husband has disappeared and is paying no child support.





When the 4 children get sick, and when the mother gets sick, or if they want to have preventative routine healthcare and dental care, how will they get medical care....in your vision of how american health care.





Before you answer, please take into consideration that the 5 people in question, the mom and the 4 children did nothing wrong, and are actually victims, just like many other americans have not necessarily done anything wrong when their employers lay them off or other calamities occur.

How will this mother pay for her children's health care?
I was laid off from my job a few years ago and my wife made about $25,000 at her job. We had 4 children to feed, along with house payments, car payments (so she could get to work and I could go looking for work), and so on. We applied for, and got accepted to, Minnesota's U-Care program (the state's Medicaid program). We also received WIC to buy milk, cheese, cereal, etc.





Edit: There are programs available. They are administered by the states, and the mother would need to contact her state's Human Services Department (or whatever it is called in that state) to get information on how to get coverage. And yes, they do cover routine doctor visits, preventive care, and dental. In fact, it was better than the current insurance I now have through my employer.
Reply:It happens all the time. The government already has programs, such as WIC, to help single mothers. She also needs a better job and her ex hubby can be found if he is working.
Reply:Can you elaborate on "disappeared"? The mother should be able to get the police or a PI to track him down, and get him to pay child support. Every year it gets harder for deadbeat dads to operate in the US without paying child support. Now, you can't get a passport or a driver's license in most states if you aren't up to date. Unless he skipped the country, they will find him.
Reply:Under her circumstances she would qualify for what is already offered.


Medicare/Medicaid.
Reply:She fits the model to qualify for medical care for her children. But why is the father not responsible for their health care?
Reply:Crap happens, she can get aid from the state, all she has to do is look for it, it wont come to her.
Reply:They are eligible for WIC and welfare including medical care.
Reply:My first question is, why isn't she getting child support? If she was married to this man and can prove paternity, she has all the right to get money to support them.
Reply:Here's what I'd do...





1. Contact the appropriate local authorities and have my husbands wages garnished...when he eventually works...this is traced by his social security number.





2. Look to friends, family, the church, local charities, and EVEN THE DENTISTS AND HOSPITALS, who do pro-bono work in special situations (I know I do it).





3. I'd immediately look for a better paying job...if I don't have the skills for it now, I'd get them fast...I wouldn't sit as pity myself indefinitely...or hope that everyone will socialize medicine so my status can remain as it is.
Reply:They should hunt down the father and make him pay support and cover their health insurance just like they do in all states. There are ways to find him. SS#, Driver's license, etc. He needs to foot the bill. I'm sure they qualify for free care until that happens under medicaid.
Reply:She and her children qualify for medicaid as it is in place right now. She also has the legal rights to garnish his wages directly from his paycheck in order to get child support.





But she is not completely innocent. She did have sex and 4 children with a man who was capable of leaving his children in poverty. He obviously could not have shown any good moral standing during their relationship, but choose to reproduce with him anyway.
Reply:She should check with her state and see if they have a health care program for low income families. These plans are usually quite rich and extremely cheap.
Reply:I think that all deadbeat dads should have to have the words tattooed on their faces - that way, every woman that comes into contact with him knows what a loser she is.





But our system does have things in place to help people like this. WIC and Medicaid, and I'm sure her state probably has some programs, too.





The husband shouldn't be all *that* hard to track down - I know the state of Alaska helps track down deadbeat dads; they'll garnish his dividend checks and his pay checks to help the mom and the kids out.





I agree 100% that our system is broken - especially our health care system. I just don't think our federal government is properly equipped to run it - it's just too large of a bureaucracy.





Edit: I don't know how much more specific I could be. I have never had to deal with the system, so I can't tell you how she needs to navigate it. Nor do I know what state she's in, and what type of help they'll offer her.
Reply:APPARENTLY SOME ANSWERERS JUST DON'T GET IT





get a better job (This coming from someone who's party thinks the minimum wage is too high and has enabled corporations through-out the U S A to out-source)





I know several women that have been left without getting the court ordered child support, even when they know where they are, the courts are way too lax in enforcement of this.
Reply:They would get health care the same way my family got health care, until I got my act together and got education and a good job.





You go to the county medical center (Refereed to as the Emergency Room in the news media) and you get triage and your financial history checked then you see a doctor and get your prescription.





If you are in the military or use the VA it's the same thing just a different facility.





This is social medicine in America.





I've lived in poorer parts of the world and they think even this standard of health care is paradise.





Even the UK has a separate medical system for those who what to pay extra to jump ahead in line. Their doctors do national health care in the morning and for fee in the afternoons.
Reply:Depending on the state, she should qualify for either Medicaid or at least SCHIP for the kids. The local health department also will provide considerable preventive care. Most doctors provide some pro bono care, usually in the order of 10% of their practice, and her husband can't hide forever. It would be nice if we had some level of basic care available to all, but it seems we'll never be able to agree on what level that would be, so one has to game the system as best he can.
Reply:I would start by going to the Dept.of Families and Children,Tell them what happened and see if they will give them medicaid,foodstamps and some cash, She'll have to file an abandonment case against her husband so the state can go after him for child support. I hope she gets the help she needs and deserves,Lord knows their are plenty of lazy people out there getting help when they can get up and go to work!