Healthy Families in danger

The California budget crisis is hitting hard where is hurts most. Now the health insurance program for children, known as Healthy Families, is in serious risk of having its enrollments cut off because of lack of money, which will leave tens of thousands of children without health coverage.

Currently there are about 900,000 children who depend on this state medical insurance, which is a recipient of federal funds. The enrollment of young people has expanded as the economic situation has worsened; in fact, it has increased by 27,125 new participants a month.

The program now faces a deficit of $17.2 millon. This Wednesday in Sacramento the possibility of closing enrollments until next June will be considered. Approximately, 162,000 young people would thus be excluded from the program at the very time that these services are most needed. This is unacceptable.

If MediCal cuts are added to this, almost half a million kids will be uninsured at the worst moment when parents are trying to survive the economic and employment crisis.

On the one hand, the health of these young people is a risk. On the other, uninsured patients will be forced to seek medical services in high-cost hospital emergency rooms, which are already at their limit.

We believe that a plan for the Healthy Families program should be considered in the emergency legislative session so that enrollments are not cut off. The idea would be to hold steady until the new Obama Administration, which has already committed to expanding the State Children's Health Insurance Program, from which funds for the Healthy Families come.

If the federal government has billions of dollars to bailout businesses, it should have funds to insure that young people are not denied basic medical coverage.

California must do everything in its power to keep open enrollments of the Healthy Families Program.