How Much Could One Child’s Medical Care Cost?

We’re used to seeing health care costs of older Americans flying out of control, but according to one study, children’s health care costs have become the fastest growing in the U.S. now. How? The Bixlers found out after one of their children suffered a head injury:

Two years ago, the seizures started. So did the never-ending medical expenses.

The Bixler family is just one example of how a child’s chronic illness can strain a family emotionally and financially — and children represent the fastest growing health care spending group in America, according to a new report.

Bixler is a professional violinist, her husband teaches music at a local college; they now live in Bowling Green, Ohio. Their children are covered under his insurance, but the coverage doesn’t include everything Sean needs to be healthy — they could end up paying $50,000 or more this year alone, depending on what their insurance ends up covering.

And Sean’s mother can’t work because someone needs to be with Sean at all times. She estimates that between 30% to 50% of the family income goes toward care for Sean; most of the costs have been out-of-pocket.

Cost of children’s health care hitting families harder

How much is your child’s health care costing these days? Tell us about it in our discussion forum!

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