Press Release: First 5 LA Helps Avert Children's Health Care Crisis

The funds cover the cost of healthcare coverage for children age 5 and under who would have been placed on a waiting list for the Healthy Families program, whose enrollment has spiked during the economic downturn.

"The fact that we saw a 25 percent increase in (Healthy Families) applications this year is absolutely staggering," said Los Angeles County Supervisor Don Knabe, who Chairs the First 5 LA Commission.  "I am very pleased that First 5 LA has the resources available to respond quickly to address the problem, and to me it is further evidence that points to the clear benefit of administering First 5 funds locally."        

The Commission also moved to assure that children age 5 and under who don't qualify for Healthy Families and other government healthcare insurance programs will remain covered under the Healthy Kids program, the First 5 LA-funded insurance of last resort for many children.  The Commission approved a total of $22.9 million as part of an extension of the Healthy Kids program through June 2010, as well as an extension of key health maintenance services for some 200,000 Los Angeles County children who receive Medi-Cal benefits. 

A separate allocation of $3.8 million was approved to cover the recent jump in Healthy Families applications in L.A. County. First 5 LA's contribution to the Healthy Families program is part of a $16.7 million joint initiative between First 5 California and First 5 county commissions throughout the state. The funds provide immediate relief for infants and young children who would have been denied health coverage because of the state's budget crisis.

"During this period of rising unemployment and economic instability, First 5 LA is pleased to help expand crucial health coverage access to more children in our county," said Evelyn V. Martinez, First 5 LA's executive director. "The First 5 county commissions' collaboration plays a vital role in making health coverage affordable and accessible to our most vulnerable children."

Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger; Senate President Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg; Assembly Speaker Karen Bass; and Lesley Cummings, director of the Managed Risk Medical Insurance Board, which administers the Healthy Families program, have all expressed public support of First 5's funding solution.

Funded by the Proposition 10 tobacco tax, First 5 commissions provide the largest and most stable funding source of health coverage for children up to age 5 in California.  The First 5 LA Commission's approval of the $25-million healthcare coverage measures was the latest in a series of efforts to be responsive to the county's most vulnerable families during the economic crisis, including those who face healthcare and other service cuts due to the state budget deficit.

In August, the Commission awarded an $11.25 million grant to L.A. Care Healthy Plan to assure that 200,000 low-income families on Medi-Cal will receive key health maintenance and other services. 

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