SACRAMENTO – Come January, more low-income children should get quicker access to the state’s public health insurance programs, thanks to a bill signed into law by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger that will make it easier to enroll kids in insurance plans who qualify for free- or reduced-price school lunches.
Leaders of the Teachers for Healthy Kids project praised the governor for signing SB 1196 by state Sen. Gilbert Cedillo, D-Los Angeles. The bill modifies the state’s Express Enrollment program that now uses the lunch enrollment process to cover children with no-cost Medi-Cal insurance to allow enrollment in California’s low-cost Healthy Families insurance. Schools will find it easier to assist parents in getting children insured.
“This legislation will help our neediest students get insurance and come to school healthy and ready to learn,” said Barbara E. Kerr, president of the 335,000-member California Teachers Association. “About two-thirds of the one million uninsured kids in the state are eligible for Healthy Families or Medi-Cal coverage.”
Streamlining Express Enrollment makes the process more efficient and more likely to insure those kids who need it most, said Steve Tough, CEO of the California Association of Health Plans (CAHP). “This bill will make a difference for California’s uninsured children.”
Currently, a family of four with an annual income of up to $47,136 is eligible for coverage through Healthy Families. The coverage is for medical, dental and vision care for children aged 18 and younger. Monthly premiums are a maximum of $27 for three or more children. Families who earn much less can qualify for Medi-Cal health insurance, which is free.
Among other new steps, SB 1196 also allows information in school lunch program applications to be used, with parental consent, to determine if children are eligible for any county- or locally-sponsored health insurance programs, if they aren’t eligible for the state’s Healthy Families or Medi-Cal coverage. CTA strongly backed the bill, along with CAHP, and The 100% Campaign – a coalition of Children Now, the Children’s Defense Fund and The Children’s Partnership.
The Teachers for Healthy Kids project, funded by the California Endowment foundation, is in its third successful year of publicizing the state’s Healthy Families health insurance program in the public schools.
For more information about the project, go to www.TeachersForHealthyKids.com.