News Articles
News Articles
Sacramento Bee: Sacramento-area parents fear Healthy Families cuts
By Bobby Caina Calvan
August 3, 2009
Monique Kolster and her children are in a tense waiting game. Her daughter Elle is a healthy 2-year-old, but 
4-year-old Tadd has a chronic ailment requiring frequent visits to doctors and specialists.
Sometime soon Kolster will learn if the children can keep their medical coverage from California's budget-ravaged Healthy Families program, the safety net for hundreds of thousands of children.
Kolster and her husband don't earn much money. Their budget would be stretched thin if they had to turn to private insurance for Tadd and Elle. Yet the family isn't poor enough for the children to qualify for Medi-Cal.
"I just don't know what we're going to do, what all these other families are going to do," Kolster said.
Read more: Sacramento Bee: Sacramento-area parents fear Healthy Families cuts
Families urge lawmakers to save insurance program
BY SARAH REINECKE, Californian staff writer
This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
| Tuesday, Jun 16 2009 04:58 PM
Tracey Poteet can't afford private health insurance for her 9 and 11-year-old sons.
Her husband is covered by his employer, but adding the boys to that plan was "outrageous" given the size of his full-time salary and her part-time wages.
Their other option was Healthy Families, a health insurance program for low-income children that serves about 26,000 Kern County kids. It's for people who make too much to qualify for no-cost Medi-Cal but can't afford private coverage.
For $32 a month, Poteet can rest easy, knowing her sports-playing boys are covered in an emergency.
Poteet shared her story at a press conference Tuesday designed to show lawmakers the real families this program supports.
Read more: Families urge lawmakers to save insurance program
Sac Bee: Governor's budget ax poised over children's health care programs
By Kevin Yamamura This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it , Thursday, May. 28, 2009
In a much different environment two years ago, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger kicked off his second term by pledging to reshape health care in California.
The governor is on the verge of doing so – but hardly in the way he envisioned.
Read more: Sac Bee: Governor's budget ax poised over children's health care programs
The Orange County Register: Three digits connect those in need
MORNING READ: 2-1-1 is a little-known hot line that helps people in crisis find shelter, food and other assistanceDecember 31, 2008
By Erika Chavez, The Orange County Register
The calls come every day and at all hours, ebbing in the middle of the night and peaking on Monday mornings.
Read more: The Orange County Register: Three digits connect those in need
The Sacramento Bee: Despite deficit, Steinberg sure he can get all state's kids insured
Sunday, Dec. 07, 2008 | Page 3ABy Aurelio Rojas This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
In his inaugural session as head of the California Senate, Darrell Steinberg singled out health care for all children as one of the issues he plans to tackle in his first 120 days.
Read more: The Sacramento Bee: Despite deficit, Steinberg sure he can get all state's kids insured
The Modesto Bee: Health care program prepares for freeze
November 20, 2008By Ken Carlson, This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
Efforts to close an $11.2 billion state budget deficit have shaken up the state's Healthy Families program, which provides health care to about 13,300 children and pregnant women in Stanislaus County.
Read more: The Modesto Bee: Health care program prepares for freeze
Healthy Families Child Care Program in Jeopardy
KXTV-10 5pm NewsNovember 19, 2008
SACRAMENTO, CA - California's budget deficit may soon have a big impact on health care programs for low-income children.
The Managed Risk Medical Insurance Board is considering cutting off new enrollees into the state's Healthy Families insurance program, a decision that could put more than 160,000 low-income children on a waiting list for care.
"It just doesn't make sense," said UC Davis pediatrician Dr. Richard Pan. "The illnesses will still come."
Los Angeles Times: California considers capping enrollment in poor children's health program
November 14, 2008By Jordan Rau, LA Times staff writer, This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
Reporting from Sacramento -- State officials are considering capping enrollment in California's health insurance program for children of the working poor, as an influx of new clients overwhelms it.
The Sacramento Bee: Health plan for California kids may end new enrollment
November 14, 2008By Aurelio Rojas, This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
As California sheds jobs at an alarming rate, increasing the ranks of the uninsured, the state-run Healthy Families program for children is preparing to close enrollment for the first time in its 10-year history.
Read more: The Sacramento Bee: Health plan for California kids may end new enrollment
Victorville Daily Press: 2-1-1 calls reflect economic uncertainty
October 31, 2008
RYAN ORR Staff WriterRead more: Victorville Daily Press: 2-1-1 calls reflect economic uncertainty
Los Angeles Daily News: Report: California children's health is at risk
October 21, 2008
By Susan Abram, Staff Writer
Many of the state's 3 million children ages 0-5 "grow up in environments where their health may limit their social, emotional and academic development," said the authors of a report released by the UCLA Center for Health Policy Research.
Read more: Los Angeles Daily News: Report: California children's health is at risk
US News & World Report: Family Income Impacts Children's Health
Big gaps exist between states, and between poor, middle- and upper-class families, study finds
October 8, 2008
By Steven Reinberg
WEDNESDAY, Oct. 8 (HealthDay News) -- For American children, the state they live in and their family's income and education may help determine how healthy they are, a new survey shows. Among children aged 17 and younger, 16 percent are in less than optimal health, according to the state-by-state survey from the nonprofit Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.
Read more: US News & World Report: Family Income Impacts Children's Health
Inland Valley Daily Bulletin: Report details services, gaps for SB County's 2-1-1 system
September 30, 2008
Canan Tasci, Staff Writer
RANCHO CUCAMONGA - San Bernardino County's 2-1-1 system is bridging the gap between valuable information and people. "It's Google for social and health service information at your fingertips," said 5th District Supervisor Josie Gonzales of the 24/7 toll-free phone information system.
Read more: Inland Valley Daily Bulletin: Report details services, gaps for SB County's 2-1-1 system
Los Angeles Times: Thousands of California children are in danger of losing health insurance
Increased premiums for low-income families are expected to put the program out of reach for many. A new Medi-Cal policy is also expected to cut enrollees, further weakening the healthcare system.
August 24, 2008
By Jordan Rau
Los Angeles Times Staff Writer
SACRAMENTO - California's promising strides toward extending medical coverage to all its children, a longtime goal of Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and one advocates believed was in reach by decade's end, has stalled -- and thousands of kids are in danger of losing insurance.