More uninsured children to receive care

HEALTHY KIDS PROGRAM:
WAIVER TO ENABLE ELIMINATION OF WAITING LIST

By Barbara Feder Ostrov
Mercury News

Santa Clara County will be able to virtually wipe out its 800-child waiting list for its Healthy Kids insurance program, thanks to a special waiver from the federal government announced this week.

San Francisco, San Mateo and Alameda counties also will be able to expand similar programs that provide subsidized health insurance for children who do not qualify for other government health programs including Healthy Families or Medi-Cal.

As many as 5,000 California children in the four counties could receive health insurance because of the expansion, according to a news release issued Thursday by the U.S. Health and Human Services Department.

"It's really good news for kids,'' said Leona Butler, CEO of the Santa Clara Family Health Plan. "All those children who aren't getting care are going to be able to get it.''

The federal government will pay 65 percent of the cost of expanding the programs, while the counties will pay 35 percent, Butler said. California, in the midst of a budget crisis, will not be involved financially but state officials will help oversee the expansion, she said.

Butler estimated that Santa Clara County's Healthy Kids program, which serves about 13,000 children, could receive an additional $746,000 in federal money each year.

Healthy Kids programs provide heavily subsidized medical, dental and vision coverage for children whose families earn up to 300 percent of the federal poverty line, now $18,850 a year for a family of four.

Parents typically pay $4 to $12 a month in premiums -- a small share of the estimated $85 monthly cost a child, Butler said. In Santa Clara County, Healthy Kids costs about $13.5 million a year and is financed by tobacco-tax and tobacco-lawsuit-settlement money, as well as foundation grants.

Santa Clara, San Francisco, San Mateo and Alameda counties were the first to start Healthy Kids-type programs, but other counties have since followed suit.

The four county programs allow enrollment of undocumented children who are not eligible for Healthy Families or Medi-Cal, Butler said. They also enroll children from families who earn too much to qualify for Healthy Families or Medi-Cal.

The new federal money can only be used to defray health insurance costs for documented children in the Healthy Kids programs, Butler said. But it will bolster local funds, expanding coverage for all children, she said.

IF YOU'RE INTERESTED

For more information about the Healthy Kids, Healthy Families and Medi-Cal programs, call the Children's Health Initiative of Santa Clara County at (888) CHI-5222.

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Contact Barbara Feder Ostrov at bfeder@mercurynews.com or (408) 920-5064.