Health and Human Services, Business, and Education Leaders Join Forces to Help Children Stay Healthy, Keep Learning

Business Wire, Dec 3, 2002

News Editors

LOS ANGELES--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Dec. 3, 2002

Launch Readied for Express Lane Eligibility Pilot Programs

As New Study Proves Link Between Health Care and Learning

An unprecedented statewide coalition of health and human services, business, and education leaders today kicked off the preparation phase for the launch of an Express Lane Eligibility (ELE) pilot program in several Los Angeles schools. ELE is a new initiative designed to increase health care coverage for children, which has been shown in a recent study to promote better learning. The California Endowment, a private, statewide health foundation, and The Children's Partnership, a national nonprofit children's research and advocacy group, lead the coalition.

"It is a travesty that thousands of eligible children lack health care coverage because barriers in our health care system prevent them from enrolling in public health insurance programs," Robert K. Ross, M.D., president and CEO of The California Endowment, told students, teachers and community leaders at Dena Elementary School this morning. "ELE is a quick and efficient way to streamline the enrollment process and help our children receive the health care coverage they deserve. Health and human services, business, and education leaders have demonstrated an enormous commitment to ensuring the success of this program, and we must continue to work together to ensure that ELE implementation takes place to help our children stay healthy and keep learning."

ELE gives parents who sign up their children for the school lunch program the option of allowing their information to be used to expedite their enrollment in California's Medi-Cal and Healthy Families programs. Once the child's eligibility has been determined, the child is quickly enrolled into one of the programs, without having to complete a full insurance application. The program's unique approach targets families at schools, the exact point where they are most receptive to information about health insurance benefits for which their children may qualify.

ELE was enacted by the state legislature last fall and Governor Gray Davis approved a July 2003 implementation date in the 2002-2003 state budget.

The Endowment awarded the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) a $750,000 grant to help the District prepare for pilot implementation of the ELE program next summer, just in time for the new school year. The LAUSD will pilot the program at school sites in East Los Angeles and South Los Angeles, including 15 child development centers, two elementary schools, two middle schools and two high schools. In order to assist school districts to prepare for ELE implementation next summer, The Endowment is also supporting pilot programs in San Diego and Fresno, and plans to help additional school districts throughout California.

"ELE promises to help solve one of the biggest issues facing children's health care today by helping up to 700,000 uninsured, low-income kids get the coverage they desperately need," said Senator Gil Cedillo (D-Los Angeles), author of the legislation that provided for ELE. "By implementing these programs, California is taking an important first step to reaching its goal of making sure every child in the state has access to quality, affordable health care."

Nearly 1 million children ages 18 and under in California do not have health insurance, according to the UCLA Center for Health Policy Research. According to the Urban Institute, nearly 700,000 uninsured low-income children in California are already enrolled in the school lunch program. Since the income rules for school lunch and the health programs are similar, many of these children are potentially eligible for Medi-Cal or Healthy Families, making school lunch an excellent vehicle to easily sign up children for health insurance.

"Because of previous delays by the state to implement ELE, our children have already had to wait to receive the health insurance for which they are eligible," said Wendy Lazarus, founder and president of The Children's Partnership. "In this time of decreasing state revenues and when the federal government will pay up to two-thirds of the cost of Medi-Cal and Healthy Families, it is in California's self-interest to make Express Lane happen July 1, as planned."

The launch of the pilot program comes shortly after the release of a new study by the University of California, San Diego, and the Children's Hospital of San Diego -- funded by the David and Lucile Packard Foundation -- that shows a definite link between health care coverage and a child's ability to learn. According to the report, families enrolled in California's Healthy Families program noted a 25 percent improvement in health, as well as a 68 percent improvement in the categories of "paying attention in class" and "keeping up with school activities."

The ELE pilot program in Los Angeles has broad-based support, most notably from the newly formed Coalition for Healthy Learning, led by The California Endowment and The Children's Partnership. The coalition is comprised of health and human services, education and business leaders dedicated to ensuring the implementation of ELE pilot programs throughout California.