If you live in the Commonwealth of Virginia and are looking for low cost health insurance, you and/or your children may be eligible for coverage under one or more of the three FAMIS health plans sponsored by the Commonwealth.

The three FAMIS (Families Access to Medical Insurance Security) plans are as follows:

FAMIS The Children's Health Insurance Program: This program for children covers services such as:

doctor visits
Well-baby checkups
Hospital visits
Vaccinations
Prescription medicine
Tests and x rays
Dental care
Emergency care
Vision care
Mental health care

FAMIS Moms: This program provides health care for pregnant women up to two months after the pregnancy.

Smiles for Children: This program provides diagnostic, preventive, restorative/surgical procedures and orthodontics (Basically the same coverage as provided through Medicaid) Since this program is primarily for children, it provides limited necessary diagnostic/oral surgery services for adults (emergency only)

The beauty of this program is that the co-payments are only $2.00 or $5.00. Regular check-ups are free and there are no monthly premiums or enrollment costs. With Smiles for Children, there are no co-payments or cost for dental services. However, you must use dental providers that are within the network.

To qualify for any of the FAMIS programs the applicant must be a US citizen under 19 (for the Children's program), live in Virginia and not covered by another plan. You must not have had insurance for 4 months and are not eligible for Medicaid. There are also income requirements. For example, the gross income for a family of 4 must not exceed $40,000 annually. The FAMIS website (www.famis.org ) has a family income calculator in which potential insureds may check their income to see if they qualify.

The Commonwealth of Virginia realizes that quality medical care is important, and has successfully provided a low cost health insurance program for their low income residents.