It is important for the legislature to put politics aside and enact a budget that will appropriately provide for our children”s health care. Doing so will allow them to focus on passing legislation this year that ensures every child in Sonoma, Mendocino, and Lake counties and California has access to health coverage and preventive care. In Sonoma and Mendocino counties, we are solving this problem with the Healthy Kids initiatives, but these programs need help from the state to be able to insure every child.
As the saying goes, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. Preventive care, immunizations and basic check-ups help identify or prevent problems before they get serious and more costly. Indeed, every dollar spent on childhood immunizations saves $13 down the road.
Californians are already paying for children who don”t have health insurance because those children use the emergency room as a last resort. Yet emergency room care is the most expensive way to provide health care. Covering uninsured kids would save all of us taxpayers money by preventing health problems from getting more serious and costly.
Legislators should listen to the 82 percent of California voters who think that all children should have health care. It must happen this year. Our kids can”t wait any longer.
Walter E. Collins
President and CEO
United Way of Sonoma-Mendocino-Lake
