Not-for-Profit Consortium to Provide Health Care for More Children of Undocumented Immigrants in Orange County
About 1,000 additional children of low-income undocumented immigrants who reside in Orange County will have access to health services at no cost through a program sponsored by a not-for-profit consortium, the Los Angeles Times reports. The consortium includes county hospitals and clinics, as well as the CaliforniaKids Healthcare Foundation, a not-for-profit group that covers the cost of health coverage for about 19,000 children in 33 California counties who do not qualify for Healthy Families as a result of their undocumented status. In Orange County, CaliforniaKids, funded in part by tobacco settlement funds and hospital donations, covers about 5,000 undocumented children. About 15,000 to 20,000 undocumented children in the county do not have health insurance. Under the consortium program, Blue Cross of California provides health insurance, Delta Dental Plan of California provides dental coverage and WellPoint Health Networks Inc. covers prescription drug costs for participants. CaliforniaKids covers the cost of medical claims for children enrolled in the program, and "insurers waive certain fees," the Times reports (Mena, Los Angeles Times, 5/11).
This is part of the California Healthline Daily Edition, a summary of health policy coverage from major news organizations. Sign up for an email subscription.