California

Kristen Golden Testa presented implications and benefits of ACA for California’s children with special needs.

Download the Power Point presentation here.

Ginny Puddefoot presented at the state Health Information Exchange (HIE) Summit; highlighting the public/private collaborative effort led by TCP to develop a Strategic Plan to implement the state’s “Audacious Goal” to provide every child in foster care with a PHR within five years. 

Downoad the Power Point presentation here. 

According to a new report by the Georgetown University Health Policy Institute’s Center for Children and Families, the rate of uninsured children in California declined 1.5 percent between 2009 and 2011, which ranks the state 12th in the nation for the decline in the child uninsured rate. 

“This reduction in uninsured children is fantastic news for our state’s children and families, said Wendy Lazarus, Founder and Co-President of The Children’s Partnership. “With the implementation of health care reform just around the corner and our state’s commitment to successfully transition nearly 900,000 children from Healthy Families to Medi-Cal, it is finally within our reach to ensure that every child in California receives high quality health coverage.”

Read more about the effort to insure all of California's children in the joint press release here. 

The California children’s health coverage coalition applauded Governor Jerry Brown for signing several pieces of key legislation that move health care reform forward in California but also expressed disappointment that other key bills affecting children’s health were vetoed. 

“We are deeply concerned that the governor has put the brakes on these two critical elements of the Affordable Care Act. Putting an end to discrimination against those with pre-existing health conditions is a hallmark of health reform, as is protecting the children who are most in need of affordable health insurance. This decision by the governor is not acceptable for California’s children and needs to be remedied,” said Wendy Lazarus, Founder and Co-President of The Children’s Partnership in a joint press release .