Irvine Councilman wants to help uninsured children apply for health insurance - California

Since SCHIPS expired for the most part unfortunately...but folks are gathering up other alternatives to continue to help with insurance and health care...BD

A plan to help the families of uninsured Irvine children apply for health insurance through state and federal programs will be presented to the City Council Tuesday. The program, proposed by Councilman Sukhee Kang, would be the first of its kind for an Orange County city.
About 1,760 (4.2 percent) Irvine children through age 18 are uninsured, Kang said. To identify uninsured children, the plan calls for Irvine Unified School District to send mailers to families. Kang plans to ask the council to pay for the program out of the city's unallocated surplus funds. Kang said he has met with community groups, including Kaiser Permanente, that have agreed to match funds for more than $70,000. There already are certified assistants in the Irvine area that help families sign up for the state health insurance program, Healthy Families. Families can apply for the program online at www.healthyfamilies.ca.gov or through a certified assistant. Irvine has four community organizations that help families apply. Children who are not qualified for state and federal programs could apply for CalOptima's Healthy Kids program or Kaiser's Child Health Plan, programs that provide health care for uninsured children.