FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Friday, May 12, 2006
For Media Assistance

Children's Health Coverage Rises to Top of Governor's Priorities

Today the Governor is set to announce a significant increase in funding for uninsured children in the state. In his revised budget proposal, the Governor will propose an additional $22.8 million (General Fund) for the support of local children's health coverage efforts, on top of the $35 million in total funds proposed in the original January budget.

"The Governor's proposal will make important incremental progress towards ensuring that children get the preventive health, dental and vision care they need to grow up healthy and succeed in school," stated Ted Lempert, president of Children Now.

This funding is critical to make sure that these programs survive until a comprehensive statewide program is fully funded. Long term funding for a comprehensive statewide program to cover all children is contained within the Tobacco Tax Act of 2006 which is expected to qualify for the November, 2006 ballot.

In the Legislature, Senate Bill 437 (Escutia-Chan) will establish the California Healthy Kids program, which will create the structure for a statewide program and simplify the process for getting and keeping children enrolled.

"With passage of SB437 and the Tobacco Tax Act, California will make real progress in addressing its significant health care challenges, including making health insurance affordable for the 800,000 children who are currently uninsured," stated Jim Keddy, director of PICO California, a sponsor of the initiative.

The Governor's January and May proposals will support counties and local coalitions in providing outreach, enrollment and retention assistance to families, and help to simplify the process by increasing the use of electronic applications and improving the premium payment process.

"We're pleased the Governor has stepped up to provide relief to the thousands of kids now on waiting lists for health insurance," said Wendy Lazarus, co-president of The Children's Partnership. "These funds provide a short-term but vital lifeline until the Tobacco Tax is passed which will provide continuing funding and help uninsured kids in all 58 counties in the state.

"In this significant addition to the Governor's January proposal, the Governor has recognized the importance of supporting local health coalitions who have been successfully covering children but whose funding has not kept up with the fast pace of enrollment," stated Deena Lahn of the Children's Defense Fund.

Of California's 58 counties, 18 have operational children's health coverage programs and therefore will be eligible for this new funding.

The initiative proposes increasing the tax on cigarettes and other tobacco products by $2.60 per pack, providing approximately $2.1 billion in annual revenue. Of this, an estimated $370 million is specifically dedicated to ensuring access to affordable health insurance for California's uninsured children. Sponsors of the initiative state that in addition to providing funding for children's health insurance, the initiative will help prevent teenagers from starting to smoke and achieve several important public health goals by increasing investments in access to emergency room care, nurse education and training, and targeted smoking reduction and smoking related disease prevention, treatment and research efforts.

Our coalition, Californians for Healthy Kids, strongly supports the Governor's concepts in taking steps toward expanding health coverage for children. We urge that Californians now focus their efforts on long-term, statewide solutions.

The 100% Campaign, a collaborative effort of Children Now, Children's Defense Fund and The Children's Partnership, with primary funding from The California Endowment, was created to ensure that all of California's children obtain the health coverage they need to grow up strong and healthy.

The PICO California Project is the united effort of 20 California congregation-community organizations affiliated with the PICO National Network. Collectively, we represent 350 congregations and 400,000 families statewide and are actively organizing in over 70 cities in Northern and Southern California.