Faith Leaders Hail Largest Expansion of Children's Health Coverage in a Decade
OAKLAND,
Calif., Jan. 8 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Governor Arnold
Schwarzenegger's expected announcement of a plan to cover all children
in California caps a two-year campaign by faith leaders from the PICO
network and health groups to win health insurance
for the more than 750,000 uninsured children in the state. The plan
would be the largest expansion in access to children's coverage since
Congress passed the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP)
in 1997.
"This
is a great victory for California children and families. It shows the
way forward to covering all children in the nation when Congress takes
up reauthorization of the SCHIP program," said Rev. Michael-Ray
Mathews, a PICO leader and the Pastor of Grace Baptist Church in San
Jose.
Religious
leaders kicked off the campaign to cover all children in California on
April 14, 2005 at a 4,200-person town hall meeting organized by the
California chapter of the national faith-based PICO network. After
Governor Schwarzenegger vetoed children's health legislation, PICO's
California state network of 20 faith organizations and 400
congregations collected 86,000 signatures for a tobacco tax that
included funding for children's health. When tobacco companies defeated
the ballot initiative, religious leaders and health care advocates from
the 100% campaign flooded the Governor's office with calls to fulfill
his pledge to cover all children through legislation (see http://www.fulfillthepledge.org/).
"Providing for the least among us is at the core of our faith values," said Rev. Mathews.
Next
up for religious leaders in the PICO network is Congress, which is
about to take up reauthorization of the SCHIP program, which covers six
million children. SCHIP has been so successful that 36 states,
including California, face looming shortfalls in federal funding. PICO
is working with health care organizations to press Congress to include
enough funding in the SCHIP reauthorization to accomplish the goal of
all children in the United States having access to affordable health
coverage by 2012.
PICO's
one thousand congregations are organizing letter writing campaigns and
town hall meetings in 80 Congressional Districts and planning a large
faith and families summit on children's health in Washington, DC March
6-8. A 2004 Roper Poll found that 81 percent of Americans support the
federal government providing health coverage to uninsured children. The
governors of 4 of the 6 six largest states have announced plans to
cover all children.
"The
reality is that many parents in my community and across the country
cannot afford family coverage at work," said Rev. Mathews. "As faith-
communities we need to stand with working families to make sure they
get the support they need to raise healthy children. Congress needs to
understand that from a moral standpoint affordable coverage to all
children is non- negotiable."
PICO
is a national network of 53 faith-based federations and 1,000 religious
congregations working to improve communities in 150 cities and 18
states. PICO's San Jose affiliate, People Acting in Community Together
led the grassroots effort in 2000 to create the first program in the
nation to provide seamless access to health coverage to all children in
Santa Clara County, CA.
Source: PICO
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