But during these tough budget times, state lawmakers are having to make hard choices. For the Healthy Families Program, monthly premiums will have to go up as much as $3 a month, causing an estimated 19,000 children to fall off the roles because they can't afford it. And for Medi-Cal kids, parents will have to renew coverage every six months instead of once a year. The result is expected to be as many as 250,000 quitting over 3 years because the paperwork is too burdensome.
Crystal Lee, Mother, says "There's a massive amount of paperwork to fill out, not only that, you start receiving notices in the mail. It gets very confusing and I have a college education."
Rebecca Stark, Children's Healthcare Advocate, says "It would save the state about $25 million, but compared to a quarter million kids who would lose health insurance, it's not really a good trade off."
State leaders, including the Schwarzenegger administration, say the alternatives are worse ... actually tightening requirements so that fewer kids qualify for the programs.
Amy Palmer, CA Health & Human Services Agency, says "None of us is happy to be in the position of having to change premiums ... of having to look at eligibility. We're hopeful this isn't a permanent change."
800,000 California kids already do without health coverage. Healthcare advocates say the problem will get worse if this proposal goes through.
Several studies show uninsured kids perform worse in school and miss more classes than those who have health coverage.
Ramirez hopes he can handle all the changes and keep his baby covered. "I just care about my baby, just to make sure there's something for her, even knowing there's nothing for me."
If he loses Medi-Cal, he'll have to joins the thousands of other families in emergency rooms every time his child is sick.
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