Dr. Dynasaur is a

publicly funded healthcare Publicly funded healthcare is a form of health care financing designed to meet the cost of all or most healthcare needs from a publicly managed fund. Usually this is under some form of democratic accountability, the right of access to which are ...

program in the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sover ...

Vermont Vermont () is a state in the northeast New England region of the United States. Vermont is bordered by the states of Massachusetts to the south, New Hampshire to the east, and New York to the west, and the Canadian province of Quebec to ...

, created in 1989. Vermont had an estimated 140,000 people under age 18 (90,000 under 300% above the

Federal Poverty Level In the United States, poverty has both social and political implications. In 2020, there were 37.2 million people in poverty. Some of the many causes include income inequality, inflation, unemployment, debt traps and poor education.Western, B ...

(FPL). Dr. Dynasaur covered 56,000 of these uninsured. After adding the coverage of this program to those already covered by private health insurance, Vermont had achieved a virtually

universal health insurance Universal health care (also called universal health coverage, universal coverage, or universal care) is a health care system in which all residents of a particular country or region are assured access to health care. It is generally organized ar ...

for children. As a result, the state was regarded as having the best healthcare program in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

Coverage

At the time of its creation, Dr. Dynasaur used state funds program to provide

healthcare Health care or healthcare is the improvement of health via the prevention, diagnosis, treatment, amelioration or cure of disease, illness, injury, and other physical and mental impairments in people. Health care is delivered by health profe ...

for

pregnant women Pregnancy is the time during which one or more offspring develops ( gestates) inside a woman's uterus (womb). A multiple pregnancy involves more than one offspring, such as with twins. Pregnancy usually occurs by sexual intercourse, but can ...

and

children A child ( : children) is a human being between the stages of birth and puberty, or between the developmental period of infancy and puberty. The legal definition of ''child'' generally refers to a minor, otherwise known as a person younger ...

ages six and under who did not have

health insurance Health insurance or medical insurance (also known as medical aid in South Africa) is a type of insurance that covers the whole or a part of the risk of a person incurring medical expenses. As with other types of insurance, risk is shared among ma ...

and who did not qualify for the federally funded

Medicaid Medicaid in the United States is a federal and state program that helps with healthcare costs for some people with limited income and resources. Medicaid also offers benefits not normally covered by Medicare, including nursing home care and pers ...

. The program covered pregnant women up to 200% above the Federal Poverty Level and children up to 225% above the Federal Poverty Level.

Co-payment A copayment or copay (called a gap in Australian English) is a fixed amount for a covered service, paid by a patient to the provider of service before receiving the service. It may be defined in an insurance policy and paid by an insured person ea ...

s were required for some medical services. In 1992, Dr. Dynasaur coverage was expanded to children and teens through age 17. To conform to Medicaid, coverage under other health insurance no longer precluded eligibility and co-payments were eliminated. In October 1998, coverage was further expanded to children in families with incomes up to 300% above the FPL through the 1902(r)(2) provision and Vermont's section 1115(a) demonstration waiver and through the

State Children's Health Insurance Program The Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP) – formerly known as the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) – is a program administered by the United States Department of Health and Human Services that provides matching funds to ...

authorized by Title XXI of the Act. As of January 1, 2002, this translates to income for a family of three of $30,144 for coverage for a pregnant woman and $45,216 for coverage for children. There is no asset limit for Dr. Dynasaur eligibility. The primary goal is to assure access for pregnant woman and children to a full range of health care services with a strong emphasis on

prenatal Prenatal development () includes the development of the embryo and of the fetus during a viviparous animal's gestation. Prenatal development starts with fertilization, in the germinal stage of embryonic development, and continues in fetal devel ...

and

preventive care Preventive healthcare, or prophylaxis, consists of measures taken for the purposes of disease prevention.Hugh R. Leavell and E. Gurney Clark as "the science and art of preventing disease, prolonging life, and promoting physical and mental hea ...

, and to provide a system of coverage in concert with private health insurance that ensures

coverage for all Vermont children. This access to care is essential to successfully achieve a number of key outcome indicators of

Healthy Vermonters 2020 Health, according to the World Health Organization, is "a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease and infirmity". World Health Organization. (2006)''Constitution of the World Health Organi ...

, a major initiave of the

Vermont Agency of Human Services The Vermont Agency of Human Services (AHS) is a Vermont executive agency (or cabinet agency). Its purpose is to develop and execute policy on human services for the U.S. state of Vermont. AHS was created by the Vermont Legislature in 1969 to go ...

. A secondary goal is to assist working families to maintain their self-sufficiency. This complements the Vermont's welfare reform initiative by offering health coverage to low and middle-income families who do not receive welfare cash assistance. Coverage under Dr. Dynasaur is comprehensive prenatal care, routine check-ups,

immunizations Immunization, or immunisation, is the process by which an individual's immune system becomes fortified against an infectious agent (known as the immunogen). When this system is exposed to molecules that are foreign to the body, called ''non-sel ...

, hospital care (both

inpatient A patient is any recipient of health care services that are performed by healthcare professionals. The patient is most often ill or injured and in need of treatment by a physician, nurse, optometrist, dentist, veterinarian, or other health ca ...

and

outpatient A patient is any recipient of health care services that are performed by healthcare professionals. The patient is most often ill or injured and in need of treatment by a physician, nurse, optometrist, dentist, veterinarian, or other health care ...

), prescriptions,

x-ray An X-ray, or, much less commonly, X-radiation, is a penetrating form of high-energy electromagnetic radiation. Most X-rays have a wavelength ranging from 10 picometers to 10 nanometers, corresponding to frequencies in the range 30&nb ...

and lab tests, limited dental and vision services and other medical services. Most Dr. Dynasaur beneficiaries receive services through an

HMO In the United States, a health maintenance organization (HMO) is a medical insurance group that provides health services for a fixed annual fee. It is an organization that provides or arranges managed care for health insurance, self-funded heal ...

or PPO. No co-payments apply for any of these services. A monthly program fee of $30 per family is required for coverage for people under age 18 and pregnant women whose family income exceeds 185% of FPL but is less than or equal to 225%. A $50 per month per family program fee is required for children with income in excess of 225% of FPL and no other insurance coverage. If there is other coverage, Dr. Dynasaur is a secondary payer.

Name

The name was selected in order to appeal to children as well as parents. With a genial name, it was felt, people would feel "comfortable to enroll their children in the public health care system".

References

External links

*{{official, https://www.greenmountaincare.org/health-plans/dr-dynasaur Government of Vermont Medical and health organizations based in Vermont Medicare and Medicaid (United States)