December 10, 1999
Sacramento — Governor Gray Davis announced that the federal Health Care Financing Administration (HCFA) has approved recent state expansions to the Healthy Families Program, California's health insurance program for uninsured children. Effective immediately, the changes expand Healthy Families income eligibility from 200 to 250 percent of the federal poverty level (FPL), allow for Medi-Cal income deductions when determining eligibility for Healthy Families, and provide coverage for children under age one in families with incomes between 200 to 250 percent of the FPL.
Healthy Families provides low-cost health, dental, and vision care coverage to the uninsured children of working poor families. The program contracts with many of California's mayor health plans, and important preventive services like immunizations are offered at no cost. Affordable monthly premiums range from $4 to $27 per month depending upon family size and income and the health plans selected.
"From the day I took office my administration has worked tirelessly to streamline the program and aggressively outreach to enroll eligible children. My administration also reduced the application process from a complicated 28 pages of paperwork to a streamlined four-page application. As a result of these efforts, participation in the program has increased by nearly 500%," Governor Davis continued. "Today's announcement by HCFA will result in even greater numbers of children receiving the health care they need and deserve."
As a result of the expansion to 250 percent of the FPI and the application of Medi-Cal income deductions more than 129,000 additional children are now eligible for Healthy Families coverage, bringing total eligible children to nearly 500,000.
Since January 1999, nearly 160,000 children have enrolled in the Healthy Families Program, bringing to almost 200,000 the total number of children covered since the program's inception on July 1, 1998.
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