However, many of these children will never benefit from the Healthy Families program. Sadly, many California parents do not even realize that their children are eligible, especially here in the Central Valley. It's simply up to all of us to make sure that eligible families enroll their children in this important program. Of the more than 50,000 families in the Central Valley eligible for the program, less than half have signed up. That means that roughly 30,000 children in the region do not have access to doctors, dentists and immunizations, even though they are eligible.
Immunizations are the most cost effective way to eliminate preventable childhood diseases.
Nevertheless, there have been more than 12,000 hospitalizations and more than 150 deaths associated with chicken pox in California since the inception of the Healthy Families program. If those children had been immunized, many of those deaths could have been prevented. Furthermore, this problem disproportionately affects minority communities. We must ensure that our children have access to immunizations and to comprehensive health care. This program offers real and immediate help.