Low-cost health insurance offered at workshop

From Mercury News



Assemblyman Alberto Torrico and state Senator Liz Figueroa will host a workshop this Saturday in Union City to help local families enroll in a low-cost state health insurance program for children and teenagers.



The Healthy Families workshop will be held at Our Lady of the Rosary Church Fair, 703 C Street, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.



According to Torrico, D-Newark, there are an estimated 35,000 children in Alameda County who lack health insurance, and two out of three are eligible for either Medi-Cal, which is free, or the Healthy Families program, which costs between $4 to $15 per child per month.



A family of four with children between the ages of one and five years old is eligible for Medi-Cal if the family monthly income is below $1,061. The same family would be eligible for Healthy Families if its income is below $1,994. Full income guidelines are posted at http://www.healthyfamilies.ca.gov/English/about_join_income.html.



Parents interested in enrolling in Healthy Families on Saturday should bring proof of income, their children's birth certificates or proof of immigration status, proof of California residency, Social Security cards and receipts for child-care costs.



Some non-citizen children are eligible for the program. All information about immigration status will remain confidential, Torrico said.