Children’s Health Bill Introduced
Assembly member John Laird (D-Santa Cruz) on Monday introduced a bill (AB 13) that would extend health care coverage to all California children, the Gilroy Dispatch reports.
Laird said that the initiative would cost $300 million annually. He proposed that the program could be funded by extracting funds from other programs or through a measure that would increase the state tobacco tax by less than Proposition 86 would have. Universal coverage also could cut costs on emergency department services because of improved preventive care for children, Laird said.
The bill will be referred to legislative committees in February 2007 (Tumgoren, Gilroy Dispatch, 12/6).