First 5 LA Reaches Out to Korean American Community with Healthy Kids Insurance

First 5 LA recently reached out to the Korean American community to pro-mote Healthy Kids and other free or low-cost health insurance programs. Partnering with Korean Churches for Community Develop-ment (KCCD) and other organizations, First 5 LA partici-pated in the Health and Wellness Fair at Young Nak Church in downtown LA.

A recent Kaiser Family Foundation study revealed that one in three Korean Americans are uninsured, largely because of the high percentage of individuals who are self-employed or work in smaller businesses.

The event offered no-cost health and dental screenings, vaccinations and assistance in signing up for free medical services and health insurance.

Since June 2003, First 5 LA's outreach efforts have resulted in a total of 67,000 new applications for free or low-cost health care plans for children 0-5 years old in LA County. These include state-funded Medi-Cal and Healthy Families, as well as First 5 LA's Healthy Kids plan, which covers uninsured children not eligible for either of the other plans.

In 2003, First 5 LA committed $100 million over five years to fund the Healthy Kids initiative for children 5 years and under. Healthy Kids covers children from households that earn up to 300 percent of federal poverty guidelines, which is $58,056 for a family of four.

KCCD is a non-profit faith-based organization, which serves as a bridge between the Asian American community and the community-at-large to remove cultural, language and economic barriers to resources for low-income individuals. For information, visit www.kccd3300.org.