| Article |
December 22, 2005
The Oakland Tribune
New plan to cover uninsured children
Medical services will be provided for 1,000 kids in Alameda County
By Rebecca Vesely, STAFF WRITER
Uninsured children in Alameda County can apply for health benefits through a new program that aims to reduce the number of medically underserved kids, officials announced Wednesday.
Healthy Kids program is offering medical, vision and dental coverage to up to 1,000 children under age 19 who live in the county.
To qualify, the child's family income should be up to 300 percent of the federal poverty level, or about $58,000 for a family of four.
Families are encouraged to apply regardless of immigration status. Premiums are $10 a month.
The Healthy Kids is a newly relaunched program run by the nonprofit Alameda Alliance for Health, with funding from the California Endowment, county tobacco-settlement funds and Measure A, a countywide half-cent sales tax dedicated to health care.
More than a dozen counties statewide have or are launching Healthy Kids programs, including San Joaquin, San Mateo and Santa Clara counties. Together, they have provided health insurance for 80,000 children.
Often, the families of these children cannot afford private insurance but make too much money to qualify for Medi-Cal or Healthy Families, two state health-benefit programs for low-income residents.
An estimated 800,000 to 1 million kids in the state do not have health insurance.
"Healthy Kids gives children access to essential preventative care and services that are critical to their development and ability to learn," Jane Garcia, CEO of La Clinica de la Raza, a clinic in Oakland, said in a statement.
Parents can enroll their children in Alameda County's Healthy Kids program at participating clinics such as La Clinica, Asian Health Services in Oakland's Chinatown, the West Berkeley Family Practice or Tiburcio Vazquez Health Center in Hayward. Or, they can call the Alameda Alliance for Health directly at 747-4567.
Enrollment is on a first come, first served basis.
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