Preventive care benefits for children
Most health plans must cover a set of preventive health services for children at no cost. This includes Marketplace and Medicaid coverage.
All Marketplace health plans and many other plans must cover the following list of preventive services for children:
- Alcohol, tobacco, and drug use assessments for adolescents
- Autism screening for children at 18 and 24 months
- Behavioral assessments for children
- Bilirubin concentration screening for newborns
- Blood pressure screening for children
- Blood screening for newborns
- Depression screening for adolescents beginning routinely at age 12
- Developmental screening for children under age 3
- Dyslipidemia screening for all children once between 9 and 11 years and once between 17 and 21 years, and for children at higher risk of lipid disorders
- Fluoride supplements for children without fluoride in their water source
- Fluoride varnish for all infants and children as soon as teeth are present
- Gonorrhea preventive medication for the eyes of all newborns
- Hearing screening for all newborns; and regular screenings for children and adolescents as recommended by their provider
- Height, weight and body mass index (BMI) measurements taken regularly for all children
- Hematocrit or hemoglobin screening for all children
- Hemoglobinopathies or sickle cell screening for newborns
- Hepatitis B screening for adolescents at higher risk
- HIV screening for adolescents at higher risk
- Hypothyroidism screening for newborns
- PrEP (pre-exposure prophylaxis) HIV prevention medication for HIV-negative adolescents at high risk for getting HIV through sex or injection drug use
- Immunizations for children from birth to 18 years — doses, recommended ages, and recommended populations vary:
- Lead screening for children at risk of exposure
- Obesity screening and counseling
- Oral health risk assessment for young children from 6 months to 6 years
- Phenylketonuria (PKU) screening for newborns
- Sexually transmitted infection (STI) prevention counseling and screening for adolescents at higher risk
- Tuberculin testing for children at higher risk of tuberculosis
- Vision screening for all children
- Well-baby and well-child visits
More on prevention
- Learn more about preventive care from the CDC.
- See preventive services covered for adults and women.
- Learn more about what Marketplace health insurance plans cover.