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PR-01/07/2003:San Mateo County Launches Health Insurance Access for All Children

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San Mateo County Children's Health Initiative Coalition FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE January 7, 2003 printer friendly version San Mateo County Health Services Agency Contact: Toby Douglas, (650) 573-2095 SAN MATEO COUNTY LAUNCHES HEALTH INSURANCE ACCESS FOR ALL CHILDREN Initiative will benefit more than 14,000 residents ages 0-18 San Mateo, CA--San Mateo County will kick-off its new Children's Health Initiative, CHI, which provides all county children with access to health insurance, at three community enrollment events on Saturday, Jan. 11. By offering the new Healthy Kids program, San Mateo County will ensure that seamless, integrated health insurance coverage for all children is a reality. "A dedicated public-private partnership has worked together to bring universal health care to our county," said Supervisor Mike Nevin. "The vision is for all children residing in the county to have access to quality health care through comprehensive health insurance." San Mateo County will use a three-option model for health insurance, with coverage for families up to 400 percent of the Federal Poverty Level, which is still below the county's estimated cost to raise a family. The model calls for stepped-up enrollment in the existing state and federal Medi-Cal and Healthy Families programs for children who are eligible, and the launching of Healthy Kids to cover the children who are not eligible for the other two programs. Immigration status is not an issue. With this approach, it will enroll about 14,600 previously uninsured San Mateo County children into Medi-Cal, Healthy Families, and Healthy Kids. San Mateo County's new $7.7 million program to provide universal coverage was jump-started by a pledge of $2.3 million per year from the county's First Five Commission, which will apply Prop.10 cigarette tax funds to this effort. It has been supplemented by $2.1 million per year from the Sequoia and Peninsula Health Care Districts to cover all the children in their service areas, $700,000 from the David and Lucile Packard Foundation and $250,000 from Peninsula Community Foundation, which manages all non-governmental funds for the initiative. The San Mateo County Board of Supervisors has supported the Initiative from its inception, creating the CHI Coalition made of key staff from the Hospital Consortium of San Mateo, the Health Plan of San Mateo, Peninsula Community Foundation, San Mateo County Central Labor Council, First 5 San Mateo County, and San Mateo County Health Services and Human Services Agencies. The Board of Supervisors has also committed $2.7 million annually for five years in matching funds. Enrollment fairs will take place from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Hoover School, 701 Charter Street, Redwood City; South County Community Health Center, 1798 Bay Road, East Palo Alto; and Jefferson High School, 6996 Mission Street, Daly City. Prizes, food and activities for children with an emphasis on health are planned throughout the day. ###