Get the CA Budget On the Right Track!

Last month, Governor Schwarzenegger released his proposed budget, which included a total of $6.4 billion in cuts to health and social services programs and no new proposed revenues. His budget calls for drastically cutting the state's two main children’s health programs, Medi-Cal and Healthy Families. More than 4 million – yes, 4 million – children are currently covered by these two programs.

Send a letter to your legislators now telling them to reject any proposal to eliminate lifesaving healthcare coverage for children in California.

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Dear Legislator,

As a constituent and a member of MomsRising.org, I urge you to reject Governor Schwarzenegger’s proposed cuts to children’s health coverage.

As you know, the Governor’s budget calls for the total elimination of the Healthy Families Program unless the state receives an unlikely amount of federal funding.  If enacted, the Governor’s budget proposal would eliminate healthcare coverage from 950,000 California children, and the state would forfeit nearly $800 million in federal funds, only to save $126 million in General Fund dollars.

Additionally, the Governor’s budget proposes to reduce eligibility to Medi-Cal, which would eliminate health coverage to approximately 150,000 infants and potentially hundreds of thousands of additional children in low-income families.

Since the recession began in 2007, hundreds of thousands of children have lost employer-sponsored insurance in California.  Insurance can literally mean life or death for children. A recent Johns Hopkins study found that children hospitalized without insurance had a 60% higher mortality rate than those with insurance.  If the Governor’s proposal moves forward, kids in California will die.

Investing in children's health simply makes sense. As you negotiate the state budget for fiscal year 2010-2011, we ask that you prioritize children’s health programs and support a budget that fully funds the state’s children’s health coverage programs, Medi-Cal and Healthy Families.

Sincerely,