Medical bills for a sick or disabled child can pile up fast, especially when insurance won’t cover everything. The Oracle Health Foundation’s Pediatric Grants program exists to help close that gap. It’s funded by Oracle and has already distributed millions of dollars to families across the world.
What Are Oracle Health Foundation Pediatric Grants?
This is a grant program, formerly run under the name Cerner Charitable Foundation, that helps families pay for a child’s medical care when finances and insurance limitations stand in the way. The foundation pays the medical provider or equipment vendor directly. It does not send money to families.
Grants fall into three categories:
- Clinical care, like procedures, medicine, evaluations, and certain therapies. Therapy requests are capped at 26 weekly sessions (about six months), or up to three weeks of intensive therapy.
- Equipment, like hearing aids, wheelchairs, assistive technology, and prostheses
- Travel and lodging, for costs related to getting your child to care within the United States, like gas, charging, parking, transportation, and hotel stays (only for children who are U.S. residents)
Applications are accepted from families in the United States and Canada, and through select international providers.
How Much Can I Get?
Clinical and equipment grants don’t exceed $17,000, and the average award is around $2,500. Travel and lodging grants are capped at $1,000.
You can apply for one grant per child every 12 months, and a child can receive up to three grants in their lifetime.
Who Is Eligible?
To qualify, your child needs to meet these requirements:
- Be 21 or younger (in some cases, someone 22 to 25 may still qualify if they’re receiving pediatric treatment)
- Be under the care of a physician
- Have a request that’s clinically relevant to a specific healthcare need
- Not have existing insurance coverage for the expense you’re requesting help with
There’s also an income guideline. To figure out your qualifying income, take your household’s adjusted gross income (from the first page of your most recent federal tax return) and subtract any out-of-pocket medical expenses you paid for your child in the past 12 months. If you and your child’s other parent are separated, the foundation uses the income of whichever parent claims the child as a dependent.
This program won’t cover certain costs, including debt reduction, past medical bills already owed, copays or deductibles, home modifications, research funding, alternative or experimental treatments, or travel outside North America.
How Do I Apply?
Applications are submitted online, and they run on a monthly cycle:
- The application opens on the 1st of each month
- It closes on the 15th of each month, or sooner if the maximum number of applications for that month has already been reached
- Applications are reviewed in the order they’re received
- You’ll typically hear back within about a month of submitting
If your application needs revisions and you submit close to the 15th, it may get pushed into the next month’s cycle, so it’s worth applying as early in the month as you can rather than waiting until the deadline.
You’ll need to gather:
- Proof of income, like the first page of your most recent federal tax return or a W-2
- Documentation of your child’s medical need and physician’s involvement
- Provider quotes for whatever care, equipment, or service you’re requesting
If your application is approved, payment goes directly to the provider or vendor, usually within about a week, and you’ll have 12 months to use the approved funds.
If you have questions about your application status, contact the foundation and include your child’s name and date of birth.
Relief Recap
When insurance falls short and medical bills for your child keep adding up, a grant that pays the provider directly can be a real lifeline. If your family doesn’t quite fit this program, check out our guide to financial help for special needs children for other places to turn.
