I am pleased to report that on December 20, Governor Davis submitted an 1115 waiver demonstration for the Healthy Families program to the federal Health Care Financing Administration. The waiver proposes to extend Healthy Families coverage to the parents of Healthy Families or Medi-Cal eligible children. The Department fully supports an extension of the Healthy Families program. By expanding health care coverage to parents, the State s objectives are to increase the number of children in Healthy Families by offering parental coverage, improve the health status of families, and provide coverage to uninsured Californians who do not have an affordable insurance option available to them. The State anticipates coverage for almost 300,000 parents in California.
Benefits mimic the state employees benefit package, including dental and vision.
Parents with employer-sponsored coverage in the past three months will not be eligible for Healthy Families coverage. If this waiver is approved by the federal government in February 2001, then the State anticipates implementing the program July 2001. The State is holding two forums to receive public input on the waiver proposal. As with the initial planning and implementation of Healthy Families, the Department will comment on this new expansion. The Department will keep the Health Commission informed of this effort as it proceeds.