CA Health Insurance for children

A new report shows more California children than ever have health coverage either through private or state plans. Still, a UCLA report shows more than a million children under the age of 19 have no coverage at all.



As a result of information such as that contained in the UCLA report, a new effort has been launched to offer insurance to all children in the state.



The plan is the brainchild of a trio of child advocacy organizations. Children Now, the Children's Defense Fund of California and the Children's Partnership are backing the Healthy Kids Program, which would take existing plans such as Healthy Families and Medi-Cal and roll them into one program. The aim is to get all California children insured by 2007. The program would also include some middle income families whose employers don't provide health coverage.



The plan would cost the state an additional $250 million a year. Supporters hope some of the funds would come from Proposition 10, the tobacco tax. "What we're proposing is a shared approach where parents help pay the cost, employers help pay, and government because no one sector can really afford it alone," said Wendy Lazarus of the Children's Partnership.



A coalition of leaders from churches, education, and business backgrounds support the plan. The Legislature will need to approve it before the plan goes into effect.