Alameda County Ends Healthy Kids ProgramJuly 21, 2008 |
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 Last week, Alameda County's most needy children and proponents of children's universal health care in California were dealt a blow when the Alameda Alliance for Health — a nonprofit health plan that provides insurance to low-income residents in Alameda County — announced the closing of its Healthy Kids insurance program. Left uninsured are 1,000 low-income children from families who are ineligible for Medi-Cal or Healthy Families — California's State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) — due to income or residence status requirements. Funded through a mix of private and public dollars, Healthy Kids provides comprehensive medical, vision, and dental care to uninsured kids in Alameda County at a cost of $10 per month. The Alliance sited lack of permanent funding and a failed health care policy reform as key reasons for the closure. Approximately 30 counties from throughout the state offer a Healthy Kids program, providing comprehensive health coverage to more than 80,000 kids each year. In a statement released Thursday by Howard A. Kahn, CEO of L.A. Care Health Plan and co-convener of the Children's Health Initiative (CHI), Kahn stated similar concerns for the Los Angeles Healthy Kids program, the largest in the state. According to Kahn, without crucial additional funding, L.A.'s Healthy Kids program awaits a similar fate and could close as early as September 2008 for children ages 6-18, impacting approximately 27,000 children throughout the county. The 0-5 population continues to have health coverage thanks to a First 5 LA-approved, no-cost extension of its Healthy Kids Initiative through June 30, 2009. The CHI of Greater Los Angeles, which is comprised of more than 50 organizations, has raised nearly $140 million to provide health coverage to more than 45,000 children. Through its outreach efforts, it has enrolled more than 100,000 children in Medi-Cal and Healthy Families. Despite recent studies by the Urban Institute showing that the Healthy Kids insurance program has improved the well-being of children and their families, and has led to a significant drop in avoidable hospitalizations and school absences, many challenges must be overcome to ensure that all children have access to universal health care. First 5 LA joins the Children's Health Initiative in urging the governor and state legislators to continue to pursue health care reform for the millions of Californians who are uninsured — particularly the children. For more information about this issue, contact Evelyn Aleman at (213) 482-7555. |
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