Assembly Approves Children's Universal Healthcare Legislation

AB 1 is 16th Laird bill to be approved this week by the Assembly and sent to the Senate

SACRAMENTO – Assemblymember John Laird (D-Santa Cruz) today announced the Assembly has approved a bill to provide health insurance coverage for every child in California.  AB 1, sponsored by the 100% Campaign and PICO California, passed on a 47-25 vote and is now headed to the Senate for consideration.

“Health insurance for every child in California is an essential part of the effort to reform California’s healthcare system,” said Assemblymember Laird, author of AB 1.  “Covering all of California’s kids is a goal supported by a strong majority of Californians, as well as business leaders, children’s and healthcare advocates, and educators across the state.  Children with health insurance are healthier, are more likely to succeed in school, and their parents miss fewer work days.”

What AB 1 would do:

AB 1 seeks to do several things that, combined, will result in coverage for all children in California:

• Expands eligibility for Medi-Cal and Healthy Families to all children in families with income up to 300% of the federal poverty level (FPL), which is $51,500 for a family of three.
• Allows families over 300% of FPL to buy coverage in Healthy Families at cost.
• Increases enrollment and retention of eligible children in Medi-Cal and Healthy families by:
• Reducing required paperwork when applying for Healthy Families;
• Extending presumptive eligibility coverage to children who apply for coverage through county offices and appear to be eligible for Medi-Cal;
• Creating a seamless transition for children moving from Healthy Families to Medi-Cal; and
• Improving state electronic enrollment systems to most efficiently keep kids covered.

Children’s Health Insurance Background:

Nearly 763,000 children in California lack health insurance coverage, almost 7% of all California children. Approximately 447,000 of these uninsured children (58%) are already eligible for state-sponsored health insurance programs, Medi-Cal and Healthy Families.

More than 87,000 children are enrolled in 18 different local Children’s Health Initiatives (CHIs). CHIs are local efforts that combine public and private funding to provide health insurance coverage to children who are not eligible for Medi-Cal or Healthy Families. While CHI’s are an excellent model for covering all children, most counties do not have them, and they are dependent on county general funds, foundation funding and/or private donations. Most of this funding has been given on a short-term basis thereby making it difficult to sustain programs in the counties that have CHIs. Today, more than 12,000 children are on CHI waiting lists, and this number does not reflect the total need since some CHIs do not keep waiting lists or have enrollment caps. 

Why All Children Should Have Health Insurance: Children require ongoing preventive care, such as immunizations and routine screenings, to maintain optimal health. Uninsured children are less likely to receive this care and often see doctors only when preventable or treatable conditions have become serious. Children need access to affordable, comprehensive health insurance in order to receive preventive care, ensure healthy development and improve their ability to learn. Children with health insurance also benefit the economy.

Children with health insurance are healthier, at less risk of suffering from preventable illnesses, and have better access to needed health care services: Once enrolled in health insurance, children receive more preventive care, have fewer needs that go unmet, and have better access to health care providers. Programs like Healthy Families improve access to and utilization of care and have a statistically significant and clinically meaningful impact on children’s physical, emotional and social well-being.

Children with health insurance perform better academically: Unhealthy children miss more school days, are less attentive, and have a harder time learning. For example, children covered by Healthy Families showed a 63% improvement in “paying attention” and a 64% improvement in “keeping up with school activities” as compared to their performance when uninsured.

Children’s health insurance is good for the economy: When children have to wait until common health problems become emergencies to seek treatment, the result is often the high cost of emergency care, which is passed on to the State, local communities and individuals. Furthermore, insuring all children actually brings money into the state and local communities. California currently receives up to two dollars from the federal government for every dollar it spends to cover children in Healthy Families. As a result of enrolling more children in Medi-Cal and Healthy Families, the Santa Clara County Children’s Health Initiative increased federal spending in Santa Clara by an estimated $24.4 million during the initiative’s first two years.

 Laird bills approved by Assembly this week and sent on to the Senate:

AB 1, Children’s Health Insurance
AB 110, Needle Exchange
AB 156, Flood Control
AB 739, Stormwater Management
AB 740, Invasive Species Prevention
AB 1058, Residential Green Buildings Standards
AB 1060, Food Stamp Policy Simplification
AB 1066, Sea Level Rise Planning
AB 1130, Above-ground Storage Tanks
AB 1216, Public School Alignment and Accountability
AB 1220, Oil Spill Recovery Funding
AB 1230, Charter Schools Public Health Requirements
AB 1280, Fisheries Management
AB 1396, Coastal Trail
AB 1404, Water Use Measurement
AB 1420, Urban Water Conservation