Citation URL: http://www.urban.org/MarthaKovac

This report summarizes the findings from a survey of parents of Healthy Kids enrollees aged 1 to 5 in Los Angeles County. The Los Angeles Healthy Kids program was implemented in July 2003 and provides insurance coverage to low income, uninsured children, who are ineligible for Medi-Cal or Healthy Families. This report is one of a series evaluating the Healthy Kids program in L.A. and analyses the demographic characteristics of enrolled children, their health status, health care access and use experiences, parental impressions of the enrollment and renewal processes, among other topics. One year from now, a second survey report will provide results from the longitudinal follow-up with the same parents and will assess the impact of the Healthy Kids program in L.A.

In early 2003 San Mateo County, California launched the Children's Health Initiative (CHI), a program to ensure that 100 percent of children have access to comprehensive health insurance coverage. This first annual CHI evaluation report shows that, in its early months, the CHI achieved rapid enrollment growth in its new insurance product, "Healthy Kids." Utilization of services was low in the initial months. This successful outreach and enrollment is a product of intensive and sustained collaboration among the CHI partners. Future evaluation reports will document the impact of the program on access to care and cost.

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