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Summary
Of California's over 9 million children, nearly one in
five has no health coverage. Today, Californians have
a real opportunity to reach 100% of these kids with
health coverage -- thanks to the bipartisan support
that developed last summer around the implementation
of the new Healthy Families program, the availability
of millions of dollars of unused federal funds and
money from the state's tobacco lawsuit settlement,
the healthy condition of California's economy, and
the number of model innovative programs currently underway
in California. The first step: enroll the over 1 million
currently eligible children into the new Healthy Families
program and Medi-Cal. The second: find and implement
solutions for covering the remaining 670,000 uninsured
youngsters.
There is no single "magic bullet" to the challenge
ahead. Instead, it will require the most sustained and
vigorous outreach ever undertaken in California to bring
kids into health care, along with targeted improvements
in existing programs. In addition, it will require employers,
government, health plans, counties and clinics to work
together in unprecedented ways to build upon public and
private sector efforts now underway so that kids not
eligible for existing programs can have access to health
insurance their families can afford.
This Strategic Audit lays out a roadmap for getting this
job done. The analysis was carried out by The Children's
Partnership in collaboration with Children Now and the
Children's Defense Fund as part of the 100% Campaign.
The 100% Campaign: Health Insurance for Every California
Child is a coordinated endeavor of these three groups
to ensure that all of California's children have quality
health coverage. The Strategic Audit's contents and findings
build on the extensive expertise of the 100% Campaign
Partners as well as a distinguished group of experts
who served as Project Advisors. The research process
consisted of analyzing existing data, identifying a range
of people and programs, reviewing useful material already
written on the subject, and conducting extensive interviews
with key sources including leaders in the health arena,
employer community, public interest community, and children's
field.
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