Statement of Senator Dianne Feinstein on the
Decision to Allow California to Insure Low-Income Parents
January 25, 2002

Washington, DC - The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) today announced a decision to grant California a waiver to provide federally funded health insurance coverage to uninsured Californians, mostly parents of children who are enrolled in the State Children's Health Insurance (S-CHIP) program.

The program, known as Healthy Families in California, currently provides insurance for 500,000 children in the State. Under the waiver, California will be able to provide health insurance coverage to an additional 300,000 uninsured Californians. Parents making up to $35,300 (for a family of four) could qualify for coverage under S-CHIP. The following is Senator Feinstein's statement:

"I am pleased to learn that the Department of Health and Human Services has approved California's request for a S-CHIP waiver. It is a win-win for California's parents and children. We have been urging this action for some time.

The waiver will allow California to provide health insurance coverage to the parents of children eligible for the Healthy Families program. And by encouraging parents to enroll in the program, this waiver will actually mean that more children will receive quality health care."

More than 75 percent of uninsured children live with parents who are uninsured. If an entire family is enrolled in a plan and seeing the same group of doctors - in other words, if the care is convenient for the whole family - all the members of the family are more likely to be insured and to stay healthy.

Approval of this waiver, however, is only the first step. I have introduced legislation in the Senate to give all states the option to enroll parents in S-CHIP. This legislation would eliminate the waiver process, which can be timely and costly.

It is my hope that the Senate will take up and approve this legislation soon."

Healthy Families applications and assistance can be obtained in 10 languages in California through 1,500 organizations, including schools, churches, community clinics, doctors' offices, government offices and WIC sites. For more information, call 1-800/880-5305 or visit them online at www.healthyfamilies.ca.gov.

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