Honoring the Children's Health Initiative of Napa County

Floor Speech

HONORING THE CHILDREN'S HEALTH INITIATIVE OF NAPA COUNTY -- (Extensions of Remarks - May 02, 2007)

* Mr. THOMPSON of California. Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor the Children's Health Initiative of Napa County for the excellent work it has done to expand health insurance coverage to all of Napa County's children. By trying to ensure that every child in Napa County has some form of health insurance, the Children's Health Initiative is working to improve the quality of life for all children and families in Napa County.

* The Children's Health Initiative was founded in 2005 with the goal of providing insurance coverage for every child in Napa County, either directly or by working with families to obtain coverage through other programs they might qualify for. Often families qualify for health insurance but are intimidated by the paperwork or relatively minor costs associated with many insurance programs. A twin approach of helping families make those enrollments where qualified while providing a comprehensive health insurance program to those who do not has been the foundation of this program's success.

* Since the start of programmatic work in December 2005, Children's Health Initiative has gained health insurance for 2,100 children in Napa County. Approximately 30 percent of these were through the initiative's own Healthy Kids insurance, while the remainder have successfully enrolled in the partnership programs MediCal, Healthy Families, and Kaiser Permanente's Child Health Plan. The program has done very well, reaching into communities that have traditionally lacked information about health care resources. Around 95 percent of the children served by the initiative's own Healthy Kids insurance program are Spanish speaking by birth, and many live in households with incomes not far above the federal poverty line.

* It is extraordinarily important that children in any community be given access to a comprehensive health care. Not only is it good for the individual child's health and development, but it also has numerous positive effects throughout the community. By ensuring regular access to preventative care and examinations, as well as immunizations, children are healthier and pose less risk of transmitting diseases to others, and require fewer expensive visits to the emergency room. Parents benefit as well, as they take fewer sick days and so are more stable in their jobs.

* Madam Speaker, it is appropriate at this time that we thank the Children's Health Initiative of Napa County for the remarkable strides this program has taken in just 2 years. Only through the hard work and generous contributions of countless members of our community has this program gotten such a strong start, and I know that we will see much more progress in the years to come.

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