[Congressional Record Volume 146, Number 150 (Thursday, December 7, 2000)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E2144]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 SANTA CLARA COUNTY MAKES HISTORY BY PROVIDING HEALTH COVERAGE FOR ALL 
                                CHILDREN

                                 ______
                                 

                        HON. FORTNEY PETE STARK

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                       Thursday, December 7, 2000

  Mr. STARK. Mr. Speaker, Santa Clara County in California has just 
made history by approving a plan to provide health coverage for all of 
the estimated 70,000 uninsured children in the county. Unwilling to 
wait for national and state officials to respond to the problem, the 
county has obtained funding from a variety of diverse sources to ensure 
that children receive the health care coverage they need, starting 
January 2, 2001.
  The county will streamline application forms, aggressively conduct 
outreach, and enroll the approximately 50,000 children who qualify for 
state and federally funded programs. For the other 20,000 children who 
don't qualify for existing government assistance, the county will pay 
the majority of their health insurance premiums.
  Not only will Santa Clara County's children be guaranteed health 
coverage, but also they will be guaranteed comprehensive coverage. 
Currently, children can obtain access to health care through Medicaid, 
State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP), and the private 
sector. Often, the health coverage varies widely. Under Santa Clara 
County's program though, all children up to the age 19 will be 
guaranteed comprehensive coverage of a range of services, including 
vision, dental, and medical care.
  I want to commend Santa Clara County for being the first in the 
nation to set its sights on covering all children with health 
insurance. The county has proactively found a solution to our nation's 
pressing problem of the uninsured and has built partnerships with 
diverse groups to achieve coverage for all children.
  I hope that other counties, states, and the federal government will 
follow Santa Clara County's lead. With over 10 million uninsured 
children in this country, the problem faced by Santa Clara County is 
one that is faced by numerous counties across America. This year, I 
introduced H.R. 4390, the MediKids Health Insurance Act to provide 
health coverage for every child in the country. It would provide a 
health care safety net for uninsured children by guaranteeing access to 
comprehensive medical care.
  MediKids, which builds on our successful experience with Medicare, is 
one approach to ensuring coverage for all children in the nation. There 
are alternative approaches that build on other existing programs, 
similar to the new effort being undertaken by Santa Clara County. I 
hope everyone in Congress can join in continuing our efforts to expand 
coverage to our nation's uninsured children. Passage of the SCHIP 
program in 1997 has certainly moved us forward, but much more needs to 
be done.
  All of our nation's children deserve a healthy start in life. For the 
children living in Santa Clara County, they should now get precisely 
that.

                          ____________________