FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Tuesday, April 29, 2008
For Media Assistance

Californians for Healthy Kids, Families, and Experts Discuss Impact of Harmful Proposed Cuts to Children’s Health
Urge Governor and Lawmakers to Find Balanced Solution

SACRAMENTO, California--Children's advocates, families, and experts urged the Governor and Legislature to find a balanced approach to solving the state's fiscal crisis, making it clear that proposed cuts to children's health insurance would have a devastating effect on working families and the state.

The Governor's 2008-09 budget proposal buries Medi-Cal enrolled families in red tape, increases out-of-pocket costs for children enrolled in Healthy Families, and limits access to health care for children and families enrolled in these programs.

These changes would lead to more than half a million children joining the nearly 800,000 California children who currently do not have health coverage—a 70 percent increase in the number of uninsured children in California.

"These proposed cuts put our most vulnerable children at risk, and leave California's working families without help just when they need it most," said Ted Lempert, President of Children Now. "Our leaders must see that these proposals only offer false savings that would increase the burden on taxpayers down the road due to a staggering rise in the number of uninsured children."

Two of the most severe proposals include imposing unnecessary bureaucratic Quarterly Status Reports (QSRs) for Medi-Cal enrollees, and increasing premiums and co-payments for children covered by Healthy Families.

The proposed QSRs would require families to re-enroll in Medi-Cal four times a year, versus the currently once-a-year policy, increasing red tape so those who can't keep up are dropped—and the state no longer has to pay for their health coverage. By the Administration's own estimates, more than 470,000 children will lose coverage because of this so-called "cost-saving" measure. California would become one of only two states to impose such harsh barriers to health insurance enrollment.

"When Washington state adopted a similar proposal in 2003,tens of thousands ofenrolled children lost coverage in that first year alone, and that measure required families to re-enroll only twice a year, not California's proposed four times per year," said David Hanig, Senior Policy Analyst for the Washington State Legislature, who joined California children's health advocates and families at the Capitol today. "Because this change hurt the poorest and most vulnerable children; and because Washington leaders later committed to covering all of the state's children, the state returned to 12-month periods of eligibility."

In addition, the cost for re-enrolling these children would also increase. California already spends $40 million a year to re-enroll children that have lost their coverage but remain eligible.

"I don't know what we would've done without Medi-Cal," said Anjie Reynolds, a mother of two from Marin County. "When my daughter was taken to the emergency room last year and later hospitalized, the last thing we wanted to worry about was the cost. Families need to have these services available to them, so that children can receive the care they need, and parents can have the peace of mind that their kids are covered."

To solve California fiscal crises, Californians for Healthy Kids argues for a balanced approach that does not require any one group to disproportionately suffer as a result. Our elected officials need to make tough decisions on priorities. Children should be at the top of that priority list.

"As the Governor prepares to release his May Revise budget and enter negotiations with lawmakers, we need to emphasize that families, just like the state, are also going through hard economic times. Adding to their challenges should not be an option," said Jim Keddy, Director of PICO California. "A fair budget should not be balanced on the backs of children."

The 100% Campaign, a collaborative effort of Children Now, Children's Defense Fund and The Children's Partnership, 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.