May 7, 2007
County will reach out to uninsured children to get them health and dental care
Thousands of children will have access to health care thanks to the King County Executive's Children's Health Initiative that was unanimously approved by the Metropolitan King County Council today. Passage of the measure commits $3 million over three years for outreach and linkage activities and puts King County in the forefront of ensuring all children have access to health and dental care, as well as preventative care.
The initiative's goal is to enroll 6,500 of the approximately 15,000 uninsured children in insurance within three years. Nine thousand children are eligible for the expanded health insurance coverage proposed by the governor and approved by the Legislature this year. The outreach efforts in King County will dovetail with the efforts of the state and will leverage state and federal funding.
The Executive's original initiative, proposed in May 2006, was modified in a collaborative process with the council as the state stepped up to expand coverage for children in the 2007 Legislative Session. During that time Group Health Cooperative and the Washington Dental Service each contributed $1 million to King County to fund inventive pilot programs to reach out to children without insurance that can be of high value to the state and replicated by the rest of the state when it implements its goal to cover all kids in 2010.
"This is a wonderful public/private partnership, unprecedented in its scope, its reach and its promise for children," Executive Sims said. "My personal thanks to Councilmember Larry Gossett, who has been a tireless champion, Councilmember Julia Patterson and Councilmember Jane Hague for their work on shaping this initiative."
"This initiative is innovative and compassionate and puts King County on the forefront of working to make sure its children have access to health and dental care," Sims said. "It is a sound fiscal investment."
Sims convened a Children's Health Access Task Force in 2006, which made the recommendations leading to the Children's Health Initiative. The task force was co-chaired by Maxine Hayes, M.D., MPH, State Health Office, Washington State Department of Health, and Benjamin Danielson, M.D., Medical Director, Odessa Brown Children's Clinic.
Legislation sponsors were Gossett, Patterson, Larry Phillips, Bob Ferguson and Dow Constantine.
The initiative includes policies and evaluation measures and sets the stage for funding for outreach and education to sign up children with the highest level of poverty and uninsurance for existing state and federal health insurance programs.
This motion will soon be followed by legislation accepting the more than $2 million in private donations.