Today, nearly 800,000 children in California are uninsured, and more than half of those children are eligible for, but not enrolled in existing publicly funded health coverage programs. Covering California’s kids is a top priority for The California Endowment. In order to achieve this goal, the foundation has made significant investments through its grant making to support a range of advocacy efforts all working toward the goal of universal health coverage for California’s kids.

In addition, The Endowment provides premium subsidy support to Children’s Health Initiatives (CHIs). CHIs, which are financed through a mix of private and public funding, are a nationally recognized model for expanding health coverage and creating systems change. These county-led programs provide low-cost health coverage to children in families with incomes up to 300 percent of the Federal Poverty Level ($61,950 for a family of four) who do not qualify for publicly-funded health insurance programs due to income requirements or residency status. They also provide enrollment assistance to families whose children qualify for Medi-Cal and Healthy Families, the state children’s health insurance program.

• Uninsured children admitted to the hospital due to injuries were twice as likely to die while in the hospital as their insured counterparts.
• Compared to children with health insurance, uninsured children are three times more likely not to have seen a doctor in the past year; more than 13 times more likely to lack a usual source of medical care; almost five times more likely to have a delayed or unmet health care need; five times more likely to have an unmet dental need and vision care need; and almost four times more likely to have an unmet need for prescription drugs.
• Studies have linked access to health coverage to better school attendance.
• Californians are already paying the cost of caring for uninsured children who end up receiving care in the emergency room. The cost of providing health coverage is less than $100 a month per child, while the average emergency room visit is $435.
• According to a 2007 poll, 82 percent of registered voters said that all children should be covered. Ninety-three percent of Democrats, 86 percent of Independents and 67 percent of Republicans voiced their support.

Cover California's Kids Web site