Print
E-mail
Comment
Rate
Share
Health care retained for state youth
by David Abbott
Staff Writer
After months of threatening to cut off funding to children’s health initiatives, the Governor and legislators of California found a way to avoid disenrolling more than 600,000 children from low-cost health coverage programs.
On Sept. 22, Governor Schwarzenegger signed Assembly Bill (AB) 1422, which was authored by Assembly Speaker Karen Bass (D-Los Angeles), and passed by a unanimous 58-0 vote.
The agency that oversees the state’s Healthy Families Program (HFP), the Managed Risk Medical Insurance Board (MRMIB), will now be able to open the program to new enrollment after proposed budget reductions threatened to take 670,000 low-income children off the rolls, which would have begun on Oct. 1.
“The California Children’s Health Initiatives are very pleased that, with the passing and signature of AB 1422, at long last the Governor and the legislature have truly prioritized children,” said Suzie Shupe, the executive director of California Children's Health Initiatives. “In passing AB 1422, our leaders have stepped up to the plate when our children needed them the most.”
AB 1422 will provide $194 million to keep California children enrolled in the HFP, the state vehicle for the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP).
The new funding comes from various sources, including an $81.4 million grant from the First Five Commission and $14 million from increases in premiums and co-pays in the HFP.
On Nov. 1, co-pays will increase from $5 to $10 for doctor visits and prescriptions and from $5 to $15 for emergency room visits. Enrollees will also incur increases ranging from $4 to $7 per child per month for a maximum of three children.
There will be no premium increase for families below 150 percent of the federal poverty line.
The bill also enacts a tax of 2.35 percent on the total operating revenues of Medi-Cal managed care health plans, which will be in effect until Jan. 1, 2011.
According to Alison Lobb, analyst for the Coalition of Children’s Health Initiatives, the money raised through those sources will attract $2 to $1 in matching federal funds, and there will be added flexibility to the funds.
“There’s some mild concern,” Lobb said. “One of our concerns is that the budget was balanced on the backs of the kids.”
There is also concern that not enough attention was paid to dental health in the program.
In addition to health services, HFP also provides dental and vision coverage to children who do not have insurance and do not qualify for no-cost Medi-Cal.
According to the Director of Community and Government Relations for Redwood Community Health Coalition Pedro Toledo, the reductions in programs have mostly been in dental services. He said that in order to get dental care, children will have to enroll in managed dental care, DMOs, but that there are very few DMOs in rural counties.
“Kids don’t have access to care and Sonoma County has declared a dental emergency,” Toledo said. “We’re trying to find a solution, and our network of clinics is trying to get a DMO into the county.”
Toledo added that most people have to pay for dental care anyway, but most dental programs are insufficient even for those who can afford it. Dental care can be considered a medical issue, but it has to be critical, and often when one of the clinics in the RCHC refers a patient to a hospital, the hospital refers the dental emergency back to the clinic.
But Sonoma County is in much better conditions than a lot of other counties in the state. Alameda just shut down its HF program, and Solano is downsizing its program. The county is second in the state to San Francisco in the percentage of kids covered, and in the past 12 years, Toledo said the system has managed to get 97 percent of the kids covered.
“People don’t just magically get health coverage. You need people to help,” he said. “I’m glad the state could find money, but our goal is to have every kid in health coverage.”
Shupe, who was one of the founders of the Pediatric Dental Initiative, thinks the passage of AB 1422 is a good first step after the potential losses to children’s health care programs.
“It’s important for the legislature to realize that there are hundreds of thousands of kids without access to health care,” she said. “The California Children’s Health Initiatives welcome the opportunity to continue working with our elected officials to find a long-term solution that ensures that every California child has quality, affordable health insurance.”
Lobb is guardedly optimistic.
“The legislature still needs to figure out how to fund health care in the long term, but I don’t think that will happen this year,” she said.
An estimated 700,000 California children still remain uninsured.
On Sept. 22, Governor Schwarzenegger signed Assembly Bill (AB) 1422, which was authored by Assembly Speaker Karen Bass (D-Los Angeles), and passed by a unanimous 58-0 vote.
The agency that oversees the state’s Healthy Families Program (HFP), the Managed Risk Medical Insurance Board (MRMIB), will now be able to open the program to new enrollment after proposed budget reductions threatened to take 670,000 low-income children off the rolls, which would have begun on Oct. 1.
“The California Children’s Health Initiatives are very pleased that, with the passing and signature of AB 1422, at long last the Governor and the legislature have truly prioritized children,” said Suzie Shupe, the executive director of California Children's Health Initiatives. “In passing AB 1422, our leaders have stepped up to the plate when our children needed them the most.”
AB 1422 will provide $194 million to keep California children enrolled in the HFP, the state vehicle for the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP).
The new funding comes from various sources, including an $81.4 million grant from the First Five Commission and $14 million from increases in premiums and co-pays in the HFP.
On Nov. 1, co-pays will increase from $5 to $10 for doctor visits and prescriptions and from $5 to $15 for emergency room visits. Enrollees will also incur increases ranging from $4 to $7 per child per month for a maximum of three children.
There will be no premium increase for families below 150 percent of the federal poverty line.
The bill also enacts a tax of 2.35 percent on the total operating revenues of Medi-Cal managed care health plans, which will be in effect until Jan. 1, 2011.
According to Alison Lobb, analyst for the Coalition of Children’s Health Initiatives, the money raised through those sources will attract $2 to $1 in matching federal funds, and there will be added flexibility to the funds.
“There’s some mild concern,” Lobb said. “One of our concerns is that the budget was balanced on the backs of the kids.”
There is also concern that not enough attention was paid to dental health in the program.
In addition to health services, HFP also provides dental and vision coverage to children who do not have insurance and do not qualify for no-cost Medi-Cal.
According to the Director of Community and Government Relations for Redwood Community Health Coalition Pedro Toledo, the reductions in programs have mostly been in dental services. He said that in order to get dental care, children will have to enroll in managed dental care, DMOs, but that there are very few DMOs in rural counties.
“Kids don’t have access to care and Sonoma County has declared a dental emergency,” Toledo said. “We’re trying to find a solution, and our network of clinics is trying to get a DMO into the county.”
Toledo added that most people have to pay for dental care anyway, but most dental programs are insufficient even for those who can afford it. Dental care can be considered a medical issue, but it has to be critical, and often when one of the clinics in the RCHC refers a patient to a hospital, the hospital refers the dental emergency back to the clinic.
But Sonoma County is in much better conditions than a lot of other counties in the state. Alameda just shut down its HF program, and Solano is downsizing its program. The county is second in the state to San Francisco in the percentage of kids covered, and in the past 12 years, Toledo said the system has managed to get 97 percent of the kids covered.
“People don’t just magically get health coverage. You need people to help,” he said. “I’m glad the state could find money, but our goal is to have every kid in health coverage.”
Shupe, who was one of the founders of the Pediatric Dental Initiative, thinks the passage of AB 1422 is a good first step after the potential losses to children’s health care programs.
“It’s important for the legislature to realize that there are hundreds of thousands of kids without access to health care,” she said. “The California Children’s Health Initiatives welcome the opportunity to continue working with our elected officials to find a long-term solution that ensures that every California child has quality, affordable health insurance.”
Lobb is guardedly optimistic.
“The legislature still needs to figure out how to fund health care in the long term, but I don’t think that will happen this year,” she said.
An estimated 700,000 California children still remain uninsured.
Share this Article
 |
 |
|
| WUSD replaces Summer School | Sutter debate continues |
Article Rating
Reader Comments
The following are comments from the readers. In no way do they represent the view of sonomawest.com.
You must register with a valid email to post comments. Only your Member ID will be posted with the comments.
Registered users sign in here: |
Become a Registered User |
Popular Searches