Enrolling Uninsured Kids for Health Care

As one who has worked with low-income families for more than 20 years, I was deeply troubled to read your Sept. 27 editorial and learn that 41 states may lose up to $2 billion in unspent federal funds for uninsured kids. It was most upsetting to learn that California, arguably the wealthiest of all the states and home to more than 2 million uninsured kids, must return $597 million in unspent federal funds designed for low-income uninsured kids from working-class families.

To his credit, Gov. Gray Davis eventually streamlined the enrollment process after taking office in January 1999. Although this resulted in a significant increase in enrollment, the vast majority of eligible kids have not elected to join. Now that 41 states have failed, the best way to get care to our uninsured kids, as your editorial stated, is to automatically enroll any child who qualities for a free school lunch. Almost 200 of California’s rural and urban communities have been federally designated as lacking access to primary care physicians. Funding should also go to further expand the safety net with neighborhood health centers and school-based clinics. Only then will America meet its obligation to its 11 million uninsured kids.

PATRICK DOWLING MD

Chair, Dept. of Family Medicine

UCLA Center for Health Sciences

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What is always troubling to me is the government’s concern that tax money was not spent. The editorial says that it is terrible that California did not spend over half a billion of federal tax money and may have to send it back. This is the same thinking that we in the defense industry always objected to when federal employees would complain that we underspent a contract.

In one year Davis increased the Healthy Families enrollment by 700%! Really, Gov. Davis, where did you find all these extra people?

FRANCIS JANSEN

Northridge