out your stateâs health insurance exchange/marketplace (as mandated by the Affordable Care Act), where youâll be able to find, compare, and purchase the coverage youâll need. Ask what services the plan covers (routine checkups, immunizations, sick visits, speech, hearing, and vision tests, lab and x-ray services, prescription meds, speech and physical therapy), if there are any limits on the number of well-baby or sick-baby visits, and what out-of-pocket expenses youâll have to pay (copayments or deductibles, for instance). To find out more about the Health Insurance Marketplace in your state, visit healthcare.gov or call 800-318-2596.
Worried that you wonât be able to afford insurance? Under the Affordable Care Act, you may be eligible for subsidies or tax breaks. There are other options for you, too: Medicaid programs cover those with low incomes, and the Childrenâs Health Insurance Program (CHIP) provides low-cost health insurance for children in families who earn too much income to qualify for Medicaid, donât have employer health insurance available, and canât afford private health insurance. Find out more from insurekidsnow.gov or by calling 877-KIDS-NOW. There are also local community health centers that provide care at low or no cost, depending on your income. To find one, go to findahealthcenter.hrsa.gov .
Pediatrician or Family Practitioner?
The first step on your search for Baby Doctor Right? Deciding what type of practitioner is right for you. Your choices:
The pediatrician. Babies, children, and sometimes adolescents are their businessâtheir only business. And, theyâre trained well for it. In addition to 4 years of medical school, pediatricians have had 3 years of specialty trainingin pediatrics. If they are board certified (they should be), they have also passed a tough qualifying exam. The major advantage of selecting a pediatrician for your baby is obviousâsince they see only children, and lots of them, they know their stuff when it comes to little ones (including when not to sweat the small stuff). Theyâre more familiar with childhood illnesses, and more experienced in treating them. And theyâre more likely to have ready answers to the questions parents (like you) ask mostâfrom âWhy doesnât she sleep?â to âWhy does he cry so much?ââbecause theyâve heard them all, many times before.
A good pediatrician will also be tuned in to the whole family pictureâand will realize when a change at home (say, a dadâs deployment or a momâs return to work) may be the root of a change in a childâs behavior, sleeping or eating habits, or even health.
The only downside to choosing a pediatrician? If the entire family comes down with something (strep all around), you may need to call on more than one doctor.
The family practitioner. Like the pediatrician, the family practitioner usually has had 3 years of specialty training following medical school. But an FP residency program is much broader, covering internal medicine, psychiatry, and obstetrics and gynecology, in addition to pediatrics. The advantage of choosing a family practitioner is that it can mean one-stop doctoringâyou can use the same doctor for prenatal care, the delivery of your baby, and to care for the whole family. Already using a family practitioner? Adding your new baby to the patient roll means you wonât have to transition to a brand new doctor, doctorâs office, or doctor protocolâand that youâll (hopefully) already have a comfortable doctor-patient rapport on day one with baby. One potential disadvantage: Because family physicians have had less training and experience in pediatrics than their pediatrician colleagues, they may be less practiced in fielding common new parent questions, and less proficient at spotting (or treating) uncommon problems. This might mean more referrals to other doctors. However, the
Worried that you wonât be able to afford insurance? Under the Affordable Care Act, you may be eligible for subsidies or tax breaks. There are other options for you, too: Medicaid programs cover those with low incomes, and the Childrenâs Health Insurance Program (CHIP) provides low-cost health insurance for children in families who earn too much income to qualify for Medicaid, donât have employer health insurance available, and canât afford private health insurance. Find out more from insurekidsnow.gov or by calling 877-KIDS-NOW. There are also local community health centers that provide care at low or no cost, depending on your income. To find one, go to findahealthcenter.hrsa.gov .
Pediatrician or Family Practitioner?
The first step on your search for Baby Doctor Right? Deciding what type of practitioner is right for you. Your choices:
The pediatrician. Babies, children, and sometimes adolescents are their businessâtheir only business. And, theyâre trained well for it. In addition to 4 years of medical school, pediatricians have had 3 years of specialty trainingin pediatrics. If they are board certified (they should be), they have also passed a tough qualifying exam. The major advantage of selecting a pediatrician for your baby is obviousâsince they see only children, and lots of them, they know their stuff when it comes to little ones (including when not to sweat the small stuff). Theyâre more familiar with childhood illnesses, and more experienced in treating them. And theyâre more likely to have ready answers to the questions parents (like you) ask mostâfrom âWhy doesnât she sleep?â to âWhy does he cry so much?ââbecause theyâve heard them all, many times before.
A good pediatrician will also be tuned in to the whole family pictureâand will realize when a change at home (say, a dadâs deployment or a momâs return to work) may be the root of a change in a childâs behavior, sleeping or eating habits, or even health.
The only downside to choosing a pediatrician? If the entire family comes down with something (strep all around), you may need to call on more than one doctor.
The family practitioner. Like the pediatrician, the family practitioner usually has had 3 years of specialty training following medical school. But an FP residency program is much broader, covering internal medicine, psychiatry, and obstetrics and gynecology, in addition to pediatrics. The advantage of choosing a family practitioner is that it can mean one-stop doctoringâyou can use the same doctor for prenatal care, the delivery of your baby, and to care for the whole family. Already using a family practitioner? Adding your new baby to the patient roll means you wonât have to transition to a brand new doctor, doctorâs office, or doctor protocolâand that youâll (hopefully) already have a comfortable doctor-patient rapport on day one with baby. One potential disadvantage: Because family physicians have had less training and experience in pediatrics than their pediatrician colleagues, they may be less practiced in fielding common new parent questions, and less proficient at spotting (or treating) uncommon problems. This might mean more referrals to other doctors. However, the
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