Campaign Update
Friday, May 2, 2008

Families and Experts from Other States Discuss Impact of Proposed Cuts
to Children’s Health
Urge Governor and Lawmakers to Find A Balanced Solution

UPDATE ON BUDGET ACTION: On April 29 in Sacramento, children's advocates, families, and experts from Washington State urged the Governor and Legislature to find a balanced approach to solve the state's fiscal crisis, making it clear that the Governor's proposed cuts to children's health insurance would have devastating effects on children from working families and on the state itself.

At a briefing for press and legislative staff sponsored by the 100% Campaign and PICO California, two mothers, Anjie Reynolds and Tawnya Soden, appeared with their children to tell lawmakers not to cut the health coverage programs that they rely on to keep their kids healthy and safe.

"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." To read more, please see our full press release.

WASHINGTON STATE EXPERIENCE OFFERS LESSONS FOR CALIFORNIA:  Washington State experts David Hanig (Senior Policy Analyst, Washington State Legislature) and Jon Gould (Deputy Director, Children's Alliance) joined us to discuss the lasting effects felt in Washington due to a burdensome 6-month renewal requirement for children imposed in 2003. As a result of the more frequent renewals, children's Medicaid enrollment dropped by 10 percent in just the first year—a far greater drop than expected. In addition, state administrative costs grew, requiring the addition of 160 FTEs to handle the increased paperwork, while clinics and hospitals saw a dramatic increase in uncompensated care.

The Washington State experience foreshadows what California should expect if we were to implement Quarterly Status Reports (QSRs), requiring children to renew their Medi-Cal enrollment every 3 months. Jon Gould noted, "We learned the hard way about the harmful effects of shortening eligibility review cycles. I don't want children in California to suffer from the same mistakes we made." A Children's Alliance report entitled Condition Critical discusses the impact of this policy in Washington State. In 2005, Washington rescinded semi-annual renewals, but David Hanig warned that the shift back to annual reporting took time and resources.

"CHURNING" – COSTLY AND INEFFICIENT: Dr. Gerry Fairbrother, Associate Director of the Child Policy Research Center at Cincinnati Children's Hospital, discussed the costs of "churning" – the process of disenrolling and re-enrolling eligible children in Medi-Cal – on California children's health and for the state budget. More frequent renewal requirements would increase the amount of churning and thus its costs.

MAKE YOUR VOICE HEARD: For more information about budget proposals that would jeopardize children's health, please see our updated budget factsheets.To communicate with policymakers about QSRs and other budget proposals that would have serious impacts on children's health, contact the State Assembly and Senate Budget Committees, Legislative leadership, and your Legislators. Take three minutes NOW to personalize and send this sample letter to your Legislators. 

STAY TUNED: We will keep you up-to-date as the Legislature debates the budget. The Governor's May Revise budget proposal is expected in mid-May.

For more information, please contact Tim Morrison at tmorrison@childrennow.org or 510-763-2444 x122.

The 100% Campaign, a collaborative effort of The Children's Partnership, Children Now and Children's Defense Fund, was created to ensure that all of California's children obtain the health insurance they need to grow up strong and healthy.
www.100percentcampaign.org

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.
www.picocalifornia.org