Santa Clara County Children’s Insurance Program Receives Nearly $2.5 Million in Grants

Santa Clara County's Children's Health Initiative -- the first-in-the-nation effort to provide universal care for children -- has received three grants totaling nearly $2.5 million, the San Jose Mercury News reports. The grants, announced last week, include $1 million from the California HealthCare Foundation, $950,000 from the California Endowment and $500,000 from the Health Trust (Guido, San Jose Mercury News, 3/15). The Children's Health Initiative enrolls children in either Medi-Cal, Healthy Families or the Healthy Kids plan, administered by the Santa Clara Family Health Plan, an HMO that also covers Medi-Cal and Healthy Families beneficiaries. The Healthy Kids plan covers uninsured children whose families are undocumented immigrants or have annual incomes up to three times the federal poverty level and cannot qualify for Medi-Cal or Healthy Families. Participants in the programs receive comprehensive coverage, and some pay small premiums and copayments on a sliding scale. Premiums and copayments are waived for families that cannot afford them (California Healthline, 7/31/01). The grants will be used to pay premiums for children enrolled in Healthy Kids. Since the initiative began in January 2001, it has enrolled almost 29,000 children. The initiative's goal is to cover the estimated 70,000 children in the county who lack health insurance (San Jose Mercury News, 3/15).