First 5 California Donates Funds to Healthy Families ProgramJanuary 5, 2009 |
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 Thanks to First 5 county commissions across the state, thousands of California children will continue to have access to critical health care services. Last month, First 5 California made a historic move, announcing plans to donate $16.8 million to the state's Healthy Families Program helping prevent an enrollment freeze. The funds couldn't come at a more critical time. Earlier in December, the Managed Risk Medical Insurance Board (MRMIB), which administers the Healthy Families Program, announced a plan to freeze enrollment for six months starting Dec 18th, to compensate for a $17.2 million deficit. This would have affected more than 160,000 children across the state — all potential new Healthy Family enrollees. With anticipated funding also coming from First 5 county commissions, the Healthy Families Program will be able to continue enrollment through June 2009. First 5 LA's Commission is scheduled to consider the one-time funding allocation of $3.8 million for MRMIB in January. The Healthy Families Program is a low-cost health insurance program for families with incomes at or below 250 percent of the Federal Poverty Level (FPL). The program, California's version of the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP), provides health insurance to children 0-19. |
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