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Campaign Update
Wednesday, May 28, 2008

ACT NOW:
The Health of 540,000 Children Is at Stake!

URGENT BUDGET NOTICE! The California State Assembly Subcommittee on Health & Human Services will meet tomorrow, Thursday, and the full Senate Budget Committee will meet this Friday. Both committees are expected to address all remaining children's health items proposed by the Governor. At risk are:

  • 471,500 children who – according to the Administration – would lose their current health coverage due to the Quarterly Status Reporting (QSR) proposal that would require children to renew Medi-Cal every 3 months.

    • The QSR proposal will cause almost 500,000 children to lose health insurance, increasing the number of uninsured children by more than 60%.

    • Should this one budget proposal pass, California's decade of progress in insuring children will be lost.

    • County administrative costs will skyrocket due to children cyclically dis- and re-enrolling.

    • A six-month renewal period would be just as inefficient as a three-month period.

  • 60,000 children, or more, who would lose their health coverage due to increases in the price of the Healthy Families program. Premium increases of up to 78% will make health insurance unaffordable for some families.

    • During this economic downturn, families and children expect their elected leaders to stand strong, and to help them weather the economic storm.

    • With these budget proposals, our leaders are turning their backs on California's working families.

TAKE ACTION! There is time for your voice to make a difference on the budget process. Call the following legislators NOW! Tell them that a budget that results in 540,000 children losing health coverage is unconscionable and is no place to begin a budget discussion. In your messages, include the italicized points above (and be sure to mention if you are a constituent!).

Senator Denise Ducheny (Chair), 916-651-4040 (San Diego)
Senator Darrell Steinberg, 916-651-4006 (Sacramento)
Senator Elaine Alquist, 916-651-4013 (San Jose)
Senator Alex Padilla, 916-651-4020 (Los Angeles)
Senator Mark Wyland, 916-651-4038 (Orange/San Diego)
Senator Robert Dutton (Vice Chair), 916-651-4031 (Riverside/San Bernardino)
Senator Dave Cogdill, 916-651-4014 (Fresno)
Senator Tom Harman, 916-651-4035 (Orange)
Senator Christine Kehoe, 916-651-4039 (San Diego)
Senator Alan Lowenthal, 916-651-4027 (Los Angeles)
Senator Michael Machado, 916-651-4005 (Sacramento)
Senator Bob Margett, 916-651-4029 (Los Angeles)
Senator Gloria Romero, 916-651-4024 (Los Angeles)
Assemblymember Berg, 916-319-2001 (Sonoma)
Assemblymember Laird, 916-319-2027 (Monterey/Santa Clara/Santa Cruz)
Assemblymember Niello, 916-319-2005 (Sacramento/Placer)
Assemblymember Beall Jr, 916-319-2024 (Santa Clara)
Assemblymember De La Torre, 916-319-2050 (Los Angeles)
Assemblymember Emerson, 916-319-2063 (San Bernardino/Riverside)
Assemblymember Hernandez, 916-319-2057 (Los Angeles)

For more information about budget proposals that would jeopardize children's health, please see our updated budget factsheets.

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