The UnitedHealthcare Children’s Foundation (UHCCF) is helping to meet the needs of American children by providing grants to support medical services not fully covered by health insurance.

Parents and caretakers across the country are eligible to apply for grants of up to $5,000 for health care services that improve their children’s health and quality of life. Services covered by UHCCF grants include speech language treatment, physical therapy, and psychotherapy sessions; medical equipment such as wheelchairs, braces, hearing aids, and eyeglasses; and orthodontia and dental treatments.

Children up to age 16 are eligible for the UHCCF grants, which are limited to $5,000 per 12 month period and $7500 lifetime. Families must meet economic guidelines, reside in the United States, and be covered by a commercial health insurance plan. Consideration includes, but is not limited to, criteria such as the potential of the intervention to significantly enhance either the clinical condition or the quality of life for the child, the financial status of the family, and the severity of the child’s illness. UHCCF president Matt Peterson said that the families and provided nearly $1 million in financial assistance.

The UnitedHealthcare Children’s Foundation is a public charity with its own board of directors, operating independently from UnitedHealthcare. More information on the grant program is available at www.uhccf.org.