On a historic day when the California State Assembly passed legislation to ensure health care coverage for all children in the state, Assemblyman Jim Beall Jr., D-San Jose, urged everyone to join the fight to see AB1X become law.
“The battle is being fought for children’s health care here in California,” said Beall, who backed the bill. “Voting for this proposal was the fiscally and morally right thing to do.’’

Assembly Bill 1X is an extension of a Santa Clara County’s first-in-the nation health plan for children, the Children’s Health Initiative Beall helped shepard through the Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors seven years ago. Last year, under Children’s Health Initiative, more than 100,000 children were covered.
AB 1X will save taxpayers millions in indigent care costs by encouraging and enabling the poor to seek preventative care rather than waiting until they are sick and require a trip to the emergency room.
The plan is budget neutral and on-going funding relies on a variety of sources, including a proposed $2 per pack increase on cigarettes to be presented to voters on the November ballot.  The plan calls for 85 percent of the premiums to go toward health care and only 15 percent for administrative costs.