Free Car Seats

Free Car Seats. One of the major concerns in the United States is the increased number of motor vehicle crashes that lead to injuries and deaths. But when it comes to injuries among small children, it does not actually happen because of crashes or collision – in fact, most injuries occur due to sudden stops of kids, without car seats.

Since they are not accustomed to these kinds of stops, they are unable to stabilize their body and leads to severe back and neck injuries. According to various reports from health and road safety organizations, car seats for kids can reduce the injury risk by an average of 75%. This shows the value of car seats and how important it is for you to have it for your infants.

Therefore it is a legal requirement for the infants and children to have a car seat. And in case any child is caught being seated without a car seat, then the parent will be issued a ticket of almost 200$.

So, which is the best government-sponsored program that provides car seats for free? The answer to this question is “Medicaid.”

How Medicaid helps in getting free car seats?

Today, Medicaid has become the largest source of funding and is one of the largest health care payers in the United States. Medicaid is a federal government-sponsored insurance program for people who cannot afford healthcare. Services include the assistance of low-income families and individuals in paying the doctor visits, hospital stays, long-term medical expenses, custodial care costs, and more.

So, how to get a free car seat through Medicaid programs?

Medicaid is available for individuals and families who meet specified requirements. We have made a list of all these requirements below –

The utmost essential requirement for receiving Medicaid services is that the receivers must be legal permanent residents or citizens of the United States.
The second requirement is the income statement and the number of people dependent on the shown income. Every state has a different criterion for this, calculated by taking the average salary that required for sustainable livelihood in that particular state.
People who are not under the minimum earning criterion can also get these services if they have any disabilities that result in eating up most of their eating because of medical expenses.
The people who apply for the services are only eligible to get free car seats. Medicaid may also ask you to enroll in a car seat safety course before sanctioning a free car seat. This course has a motive for promoting awareness of using car seats properly. The course also teaches the right techniques for the installation of car seats.

Check if you agree with all these requirements so that you can receive Medicaid services, especially a car seat. You can fill the online applications through the Health Insurance Marketplace website. Or you can directly apply it through any Medicaid agency of the state.

Medicaid officials will then review your application form and determine if you are eligible for the service or not. If you are considered suitable for the service, then you will receive free medical care and related services from the medical provider who accepts the program.

List of Program that offers free car seats for low-income families

Below we have made a possible list to get started with free car seat through Medicaid services –

OHSP Car Seat Distribution

OHSP car seat distribution focuses on local car seat distribution. They provide car seats in local seat check events and fitting stations for low-income families.

Process – They usually process the car seat requests after October 1, and the earliest delivery happens in the middle of November. The request form should be completely filled and then submitted for approval from OHSP. Also, make sure that a child passenger safety (CPS) technician certifies your form before around 45 days of the seat check event.

If funding is available, the request will get approved throughout the year. However, OHSP not accept your application if it is more than 60 days to an event. There are also very few probabilities of getting approval from August 15 to September 30.

Contact details –

Contact person: Alyson Kechkaylo (OHSP’s Occupant Protection Program Coordinator)

Phone: 517-284-3067

Email: kechkayloa@michigan.gov

Seattle Children’s

Seattle Children’s has been working to defend the safety of child passengers for more than 15 years. They have quarterly control of community car seats for the public. Along with that, they also offer free car seats for low-income families and teach them by certified safety experts for child passengers.

Seattle Children’s teach parents to install the baby’s car seat and secure it in the seat. They also offer booster seats and low-cost car seats for hospitalized patients, for those visiting the Emergency Department. They provided low-cost or free high-rise seats for up to 3,000 children from low-income families.

Contact details –

Phone: 206-987-5999

Keep ‘Em Safe (KES) grant by County

You can join the “Keep ‘Em Safe” program for free car seats. They fund educational campaigns promoting the use and installation of child restraint systems. it is now their sixth year in the business and they receive funding from the Office of Traffic Safety. They offer 2,060 seats child car seats throughout the region.

Contact details –

Pacific Safety Center

Phone: 858-621-2313 or 858-621-2313

The Conclusion –

It is essential to remember that car seat programs have the motive of keeping your little ones safe while they are in a car, along with offering a safe environment. So, try to arrange for a car seat through the government service. Have in-depth research on how to get a free car seat through Medicaid. Along with that, we will also try to share updated information regarding free car seats and low-cost ones, so that you can easily find all the details about Medicaid services.

Everything to Know About Free Car Seats through Medicaid

How Medicaid helps in getting free car seats?