The Children’s Partnership applauds the passage of SB 562 – The Healthy California Act. We support Senators Lara and Atkins’ vision of a California health care system that covers all of the state’s residents regardless of immigration status. We want to build on the gains the State has made with the Affordable Care Act and SB 75, which has already expanded full scope Medi-Cal coverage for over 189,000 kids, regardless of immigration status.
As advocates for children, we fight to protect and expand the security families receive with having quality and affordable health coverage. As the bill moves forward for consideration in the Assembly, we hope the bill will include comprehensive consideration of the specific needs of California’s children. Any effort to improve our health care system for children and families should ensure all currently eligible children and pregnant women will continue to be covered; that all children receive a set of comprehensive services such as that defined under Early and Periodic Screening, Diagnostic and Treatment (EPSDT); and that any out-of-pocket spending is structured to account for the financial needs of all of California’s children, especially those in low-income families.
We appreciate and share the goals of SB 562 and commend the leadership put forth by our legislators and our partners. The Children’s Partnership is ready to work alongside the authors to ensure that California’s future health care system provides quality and affordable coverage for all children and families living in the Golden State.
