Bill to Expand Health Care Coverage in California Passes State Assembly

Deena Lahn, CDF-CA's Policy Director, spoke at a press conference on Monday and joined Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, Assembly Speaker Fabian Nunez, Andy Stern of SEIU, prominent business leaders and many other organizations to applaud the Assembly's passage, with the Governor's strong endorsement, of ABX 1 (Nunez). The bill expands Medi-Cal* and Healthy Families** eligibility to include all children in families with incomes at or below 300% of the Federal Poverty Line ($61,950 for a family of four), regardless of immigration status.

While there is a lot of work ahead, including State Senate approval and obtaining funding for this comprehensive bill (most likely through a November 2008 ballot initiative), CDF-CA and our colleagues were thrilled to be moving forward with historic legislation that covers children and so many other Californians!

Also this week, CDF-CA released a new report entitled, The Importance of Children's Health Coverage: Research and Stories from Working Californians, which provides an in-depth look at children’s health coverage in California, including family stories.

* California's Medicaid program
** California's State Children’s Health Insurance or SCHIP Program