****************************************************************** Californians for Healthy Kids Update – July 6, 2005 ****************************************************************** http://www.100percentcampaign.org 1. Legislative Update 2. Recent Research 3. Newspapers take note as Healthy Kids Expands Coverage 4. Resources for Action 5. How to Subscribe or Unsubscribe * Permission to forward or reprint the content herein is granted with complete attribution. View back issues of this e-update on the Web at: http://www.100percentcampaign.org/take-action/ud-index.htm ************************************************* Dear children's health supporters, The 100% Campaign and PICO California thank you for your support of the Californians for Healthy Kids effort. We hope these e-alerts are helpful in keeping you up-to-date about CHK, and encourage you to let us know about local events and developments related to children’s coverage. Our collective success in securing health insurance for all children in California depends on the involvement of everyone who cares about children’s health. ************************************************* 1. Legislative Update: SB 437, AB 772 and AB 1199 As reported in the last update, AB 772 and SB 437, which set policy for the California Healthy Kids Insurance Program, passed out of their houses of origin and are now being heard in the policy committees of the other houses. AB 1199, which establishes the California Healthy Kids Fund, designed to hold private and public contributions to get the statewide program started, and to provide transitional assistance to local children's health initiatives and pilot programs, has received overwhelming bipartisan support in two committee hearings. The bills continue to garner co-authors and to enjoy strong support from legislators. Thanks to the CHK supporters who have come to the committee hearings to voice their support and to those who have sent letters to the committees. Updates and next steps for each bill follow: AB 772: * Assembly Bill 772 passed the Senate Health Committee on June 29 with a bipartisan vote of 8-3 and will be heard in Senate Banking, Finance and Insurance Committee on Wednesday, July 13. Senator Jackie Speier Chair, Senate Banking, Finance and Insurance Committee State Capitol, Room 2032 Sacramento, CA 95814 FAX 916-327-2186 SB 437: * Senate Bill 437 passed the Assembly Health Committee by a vote of 10-3 on June 28 and is expected to go before the Assembly Appropriations Committee on Wednesday, July 13. Assemblymember Judy Chu Chair, Assembly Appropriations Committee State Capitol, Room 2114 Sacramento, CA 95814 FAX 916-319-2149 AB 1199: California Healthy Kids Fund * Assembly Bill 1199 passed the Senate Health Committee unanimously (8-0) on June 22 and received similarly strong and bipartisan support in its hearing in Senate Banking, Finance and Insurance Committee on June 29, passing 10-1. The legislation will be heard next in Senate Appropriations Committee, TBA. Senator Carole Migden Chair, Senate Appropriations Committee State Capitol, Room 2059 FAX: 916-445-4722 ACTION NEEDED: * If you haven’t yet submitted letters of support, please do so now! Address your letters to the chairs of the respective committees, and copy the authors. If you did submit letters of support in the first house, please send copies of these letters to the chairs. Senator Jackie Speier, Chair, Senate Banking, Finance & Insurance Committee: FAX 916-327-2186 (see above) Assemblymember Judy Chu, Chair, Assembly Appropriations Committee: FAX 916-319-2149 (see above) Assemblymember Wilma Chan, Chair, Assembly Health Committee and Author, AB 772: FAX 916-319-2116 Senator Martha Escutia, Author, SB 437: FAX 916-327-8755; Assemblymember Dario Frommer, Author, AB 1199: FAX: 916-319-2143. ************************************************* 2. Recent Research Several new studies from around the country provide food for thought for CHK supporters, and are excerpted here. For more information on any of these studies, see the links below or contact Rhonda Sarnoff of the 100% Campaign, rsarnoff@cdfca.org. A. A recent study of Child Health Plus, New York State’s SCHIP program, suggests that expansions of health insurance coverage for low-income children can reduce some racial and ethnic disparities in health care. According to the study, enrollment in SCHIP led to the elimination of disparities in both access to a usual source of care and in the proportion of children who made all or most of their visits to their usual source of care. Both of these are important measures of the continuity of care for children. The study, "Reduction in Racial and Ethnic Disparities After Enrollment in the State Children’s Health Insurance Program" by Laura P. Shone, Andrew W. Dick, Jonathan D. Klein, Jack Zwanziger and Peter, G. Szilagyi, appears in the journal Pediatrics, 2005:115;697-705. The abstract can be read at: http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/cgi/content/abstract/115/6/e697. B. A study released by Families USA provides important information on how costs of care for the uninsured are currently shared, and argues for the benefits of increasing insurance coverage. In 2005, annual premiums in California for families who have insurance through their private employers are $1,160 higher, on average, than they otherwise would be due to the cost of health care for the uninsured that is not paid for by the uninsured themselves or by other sources of reimbursement. According to the analysis of national data: • The uninsured pay one third of the total cost of the health services they use. • Over twenty percent of the total cost of health services for the uninsured ($14 billion) is paid by government programs. • Over forty percent of the total cost of health services for the uninsured ($28 billion) is paid through higher premiums for people with health insurance. The full analysis is presented in the report, Paying a Premium: The Added Cost of Care for the Uninsured, June 2005, and can be found at: http://www.familiesusa.org/site/DocServer/Paying_a_Premium.pdf?docID=9241. III. As policymakers and politicians stress the need for personal responsibility and a shared solution in addressing spiraling health insurance costs, a report from the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities finds that Medicaid beneficiaries already are paying a significant portion of their health care costs -- a significantly higher share than that paid by higher-income people. Specifically, the study found that adult Medicaid beneficiaries spend 2.4% of their income on out-of-pocket medical expenses, compared to 0.7% for non-low- income adults with private insurance. These out-of-pocket medical expenses grew at an average of 9.4% per year from 1997-2002, twice as fast as Medicaid beneficiaries' incomes. Thus, proposals to increase cost-sharing in Medicaid, or to reduce covered benefits, could result in even larger burdens for poor Medicaid beneficiaries, making it harder for them to access needed care. The full report, Out-of-pocket Medical Expenses for Medicaid Beneficiaries Are Substantial and Growing by Leighton Ku and Matthew Broaddus, can be found at www.cbpp.org. ************************************************* 3. Santa Clara County and San Luis Obispo's Healthy Kids Coverage Expands Recent stories in California papers detail the expansions of Healthy Kids programs in Santa Clara and San Luis Obispo counties. The ongoing hard work and successes of local CHIs are the inspiration for the California Healthy Kids effort: June 30th, San Jose Mercury News: Health plan for children expands --Santa Clara County moves one step further on its march toward universal health care for children -- by insuring an additional 1,000 children now on a waiting list. You can read the full article at: http://www.100percentcampaign.org/resources/articles/2005/ra-050630.htm July 5th, San Luis Obispo Tribune: About 3,000 children without health insurance in San Luis Obispo County will get coverage under a new law. You can read the full article at: http://www.sanluisobispo.com/mld/sanluisobispo/news/local/12056847.htm ************************************************* 4. Resources for Action * Please visit our websites to learn more about this effort at: www.100percentcampaign.org and www.picocalifornia.org * Join a growing list of Californians for Healthy Kids supporters by signing on to our goals: http://www.100percentcampaign.org/priorities/healthy-kids-signup.htm * Sign on in support of the bills: send letters to the offices of Senator Escutia and Assemblymember Chan. See the SAMPLE support letters posted on the 100% Campaign website at: http://www.100percentcampaign.org/priorities/healthy-kids-main.htm * Bill information, including records of votes, is available at: http://www.leginfo.ca.gov. * Locate your legislators: http://www.leginfo.ca.gov/yourleg.html ************************************************* 5. How to Subscribe or Unsubscribe Include one of the following messages in the BODY of an email to: info@100percentcampaign.org SUBSCRIBE UNSUBSCRIBE