California

HealthyCal.org

California needs to act now to prevent a severe dental crisis. “School based programs are very successful in addressing access issues,” says Kattlove. Also, training other medical professionals in preventative oral care and introducing innovations such as teledentistry are alternate solutions offered.  

Download the article here. 

Capitol Weekly

Wendy Lazarus urges California's Health Benefit Exchange to deliver a "first-class consumer experience," as we count down to the opening of Covered California and enrollment for health insurance under the ACA. 

Download the full opinion piece here.

The Governor has jumpstarted the New Year well by solidifying the state’s newfound fiscal stability and opening the door to new opportunities to shore up and strengthen programs for California’s children and families. A statement from Wendy Lazarus, Founder and Co-President of The Children’s Partnership, was released today in response to the Governor’s Budget announcement. 

Read the full statement here.

California plans to start moving children from the Healthy Families Program into Medi-Cal on January 1. The Children's Partnership joins other advocates to highlight the importance of assuring children’s health care is not disrupted.

“The health of the 875,000 children who will move from Healthy Families to Medi-Cal, as well as the nearly 3.7 million children currently in enrolled in Medi-Cal, depends on the success of this transition. All eyes will be on the state. We and families across California are counting on state officials to track and quickly resolve any problems that arise,” said Wendy Lazarus, Founder and Co-President of The Children’s Partnership.

Download the full press release here. 

California Healthline, Capitol Desk

Wendy Lazarus, Founder and Co-President, responds to last week's action in California: 415,000 notices were sent to inform Healthy Families participants they will need to switch to Medi-Cal managed care plans on January 1.

"Stakeholders are not against the transition, but are concerned about the speed at which changes take place. When so many providers and consumers are forming opinions about Medi-Cal managed care and about health care reform in general, it's important this transition does not cause undue concern." Ms. Lazarus continues, "With a little more due diligence, it can be done better. If it's premature at the start of it, that could plant questions in the minds of the public to implement health reform. It just needs a little more time to make it right."

Download the full article. 

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 . 

The Children's Partnership submitted a letter to Governor Brown, urging his signature of SB 970 (de Leon).  SB 970 would integrate the process of applying for health coverage with public programs such as CalFresh and CalWORKS. 

Download TCP's comments  on California's HIE Strategic and Operational Plan, submitted August 9, 2012

California Healthline

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California Healthline

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CaliforniaHealthline

State Sen. Alquist's bill to establish a telehealth task force for autism passed the Assembly's Human Services Committee with a unanimous vote. "The biggest policy barrier right now is that some telehealth services are not reimbursed. We need to ensure that all types of telehealth services are reimbursed by both public and private payers," said Jenny Kattlove, Director of Strategic Health Initiatives. "As technology transforms the health care system, its applications give us an opportunity to ensure that children are not left out of the conversation."

Download the full article. 

Santa Monica, CA, June 27, 2012 -- "Today, California's Legislature, at the urging of Governor Brown, voted to close down the highly successful Healthy Families Program that has helped millions of kids get the health care they need over the past 15 years. The Children's Partnership and 70 other organizations had strongly opposed the close down of Healthy Families which today provides health care to nearly 900,000 children, favoring a phased transition that would protect children's health," says Wendy Lazarus. 

KQED

Mercury News

"Medi-Cal already faces serious challenges in providing access for 3.5 million kids served by it today, and it's straining to serve them well," said Wendy Lazarus, founder and co-president of The Children's Partnership, which outlined demands in a letter co-signed by 64 groups. "But by putting added pressure on a very fragile Medi-Cal system now, the plan will endanger access to care for as many as 4.5 million kids."

Download article here.

Santa Monica, CA, June 21, 2012 -- "The Governor and Legislative leaders have struck a short-sighted deal that unnecessarily puts the health of California children at risk," said Wendy Lazarus. "While we understand that hard budget choices had to be made, those choices should not fall on the backs of our children and their ability to get the care they need to stay healthy and succeed in life." Ms. Lazarus joins a broad coalition of advocates who supported an alternative to today's state budget deal. See this Capitol Weekly piece for The Children's Partnership full position on this issue.

Los Angeles Times

"The proposed California study should look at treating children in schools, using technology to expand care and developing two- or three-year training programs for dental workers," said Jenny Kattlove, Director of Strategic Health Initiatives.

Download the full article here.