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San Jose Mercury News
March 4, 2005
Mercury News Editorial
Imitation being the highest form of
flattery, the founders of the Children's Health Initiative
should feel flattered indeed. The program they got rolling
four years ago in Santa Clara County not only has helped
77,000 children here, but also is inspiring similar plans
across the state that are helping additional hundreds of
thousands of kids.
The value of the initiative hit home again
Thursday with the release of the county's annual Children's
Health Report. The news generally was sobering, as a story
on Page 1B reports--but children here generally have dental
and health care, making this a model for the state.
Give the credit to Working Partnerships, the
South Bay Labor Council's policy arm, and the community activists
known as PACT for this vision. It was a struggle to get everybody
on board in 2000, but what a reward.
Last month, Working Partnerships' Bob Brownstein
spoke at the launch of San Luis Obispo County's Children's
Health Initiative. It will be the 11th in the state. Santa
Barbara is expected to join that plan, and around Sacramento,
four counties hope to launch a regional plan. There's also
a campaign for a statewide Children's Health Initiative.
The genius of the initiatives is that they
first get low-income kids signed up for existing health plans
their parents didn't know they qualified for. Then it raises
public and private money to provide low-cost insurance to
remaining kids who fall through the cracks. The goal is nothing
less than universal health care for children. It almost seems
within reach.
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