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Families USA
July 25, 2006
Even though only 10 percent of California children are
currently uninsured, that equates to almost 1 million
children who lack access to affordable, comprehensive
health insurance. Advocates, led by Californians
for Healthy Kids (a collaboration of Children
Now, Children’s
Defense Fund, The
Children’s Partnership, and PICO
California, with 250 supporters), are sustaining
pressure on the state to finish the job and cover all
kids. They believe accomplishing universal coverage for
children in such a large and diverse state would provide
important momentum for achieving this goals for children
in other states and nationally.
The Children’s Partnership, Children Now, and
PICO California have joined six other organizations in
filing a statewide ballot initiative to achieve several
important public health goals, including preventing teen
smoking and expanding access to affordable, comprehensive
health insurance for all children in California. Proposition
86, sponsored by the Yes
on Proposition 86 Campaign, would raise essential
funds for these efforts through an additional cigarette
tax of $2.60 per pack; it will be placed on the November
2006 ballot.
These advocates believe Proposition 86 offers the best
opportunity to secure a stable source of funding for
covering all kids this year and in the future. If it
passes, the initiative is expected to raise $2.1 billion
a year, of which $371 million will be dedicated to children’s
health coverage. In addition to raising needed funds
to provide access to affordable health coverage for all
kids, the initiative will streamline and simplify the
enrollment process, and create an oversight commission
and a special fund to ensure accountability of this new
revenue.
Californians for Healthy Kids is also sponsoring legislation
to support the ballot initiative by securing policy changes
to help California move smoothly and quickly to a statewide
solution to children’s health insurance created
by Proposition 86.
All this activity on children’s health care is
paying off. California polls show that more than 80 percent
of Californians want to see the state provide health
insurance for all children. The tremendous support behind
this legislative and ballot effort makes 2006 the best
opportunity the state has had in many years to insure
all children.
A 5-minute
video that highlights the broad support for
children’s health in California is available
on the PICO California Web site.
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