PR plan to publicize kids' health coverage
Published 4:00 am, Wednesday, July 1, 1998
1998-07-01 04:00:00 PDT UNITED STATES -- Children's advocates have announced a plan to let people know that affordable health insurance is available for children in the state and to lobby for coverage of still more youngsters.
Three children's organizations formed the 100% Campaign: Health Insurance for Every California Child.
The campaign will tap business, community and education leaders in the state to help families enroll in the program. The goal is to make sure that all eligible children of low-income families, determined according to family size and income, receive newly available health insurance coverage.
The new program offers coverage to young people up to age 18 whose family incomes are too high to qualify for Medi-Cal benefits. Children of a family of three are eligible for the Healthy Families program if the family's income is $27,000 a year or less, which is 200 percent of the poverty level, said Wendy Lazurus, spokeswoman for the 100% Campaign.
The campaign is funded by the California Endowment, a private organization in Woodland, Yolo County.
"Our goals now are to make sure children get enrolled into the programs and to provide a solution for the 670,000 remaining children who are still not going to qualify because their family's income is just above the poverty level," a spokeswoman for the campaign said Tuesday.
Once enrolled, a child will receive insurance for up to a year. Families must make monthly payments, determined by the family's size and income.