HOUSTON—Many people these days are struggling just to pay the bills and as a result they are letting health insurance slide.

AP photo

However, many parents really don’t want to do that when it comes to their children.

Jesse San Miguel, for instance, is a stay at home dad.

It’s not a role he thought he’d find himself in, but in 2004 a brain tumor left him without a job or health insurance.

Now his wife, Liliana, is the primary breadwinner.

“It was pretty tight. pretty tight more than it normally is,” she said.

Things got so tight that they couldn’t afford health insurance even though it is offered through her employer.

This Houston mom isn’t worried about herself or her husband who is on disability, but the couple’s 5 year-old-son Isai.

“You are worried if something happens. Being little they get into things or unexpectedly get a cold or flu,” she said.

The San Miguel family searched for low cost insurance and came across two options Children’s Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program or CHIP . 

The latter being for working families.

“People are struggling and if you are working and you aren’t able to have health insurance through your employer CHIP may be the way to go,” said J. Hoxi Jones with Texas Health and Human services.

The Texas Health and Humnan Services Commission estimates 800,000 Texas children qualify and Isai is one of them.

“This is a great service and there’s a lot of children in need. And your child can benefit from having health coverage, and so can you knowing that you have that peace of mind that you can take them to the doctor,” said Isai’s father Jesse San Miguel.

Next month Isai will is start kindergarten, but before he goes to class his first stop will be to the doctor’s office and dentist for a checkup.

And instead of paying 100’s of dollars out of pocket...

The San Miguels will have a $5 to $7 co-pay instead of the $100 they would normally pay.

Every Saturday during the month of August, people can learn more about qualifying for CHIP or Children’s Medicade at six  HEB locations.