FOR GENERAL RELEASE:
March 14, 2002

MEDIA CONTACT:
Janie Tyre
Santa Clara Family Health Plan
(408) 260-4498
jtyre@scfhp.com

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

HEALTHY KIDS PROGRAM RECEIVES THREE MAJOR GRANTS:
$1 MILLION FROM THE CALIFORNIA HEALTHCARE FOUNDATION
$950,000 FROM THE CALIFORNIA ENDOWMENT
$500,000 FROM THE HEALTH TRUST

Grants support health insurance premiums for 2,450 Santa Clara County children

San Jose, CA-(March 14, 2002) The Santa Clara Family Health Foundation today announced that it has been awarded three major grants including $1 million from the California HealthCare Foundation (CHCF), $950,000 from the California Endowment and $500,000 from The Health Trust. These grants will be used to support health insurance premium payments for children enrolled in Santa Clara County's Healthy Kids program.

Healthy Kids, which is administered by the Santa Clara Family Health Plan, provides comprehensive medical, dental and vision coverage for uninsured children in Santa Clara County. Healthy Kids targets children from working families who do not qualify for the government funded programs Medi-Cal and Healthy Families, the other two options offered by the Children's Health Initiative, and who can't afford health insurance coverage on their own. The program is supported by Santa Clara County and City of San Jose tobacco settlement funds and donations from foundations, corporations and individuals.

"The Healthy Kids program is critical for the uninsured children of Santa Clara County," said Leona Butler, CEO of Santa Clara Family Health Plan. "Because this program requires private sector funding, support from the California HealthCare Foundation, The Health Trust and the California Endowment is essential for providing children with needed health care services. These grants are further proof of all three organizations' long history of important work to improve the California heath care system."

"The California HealthCare Foundation is dedicated to expanding access to affordable, quality health care for underserved individuals and communities in California," said Mark Smith M.D., M.B.A., CEO of the California HealthCare Foundation. "The Healthy Kids program has demonstrated strong community support and initial success in reaching and enrolling uninsured children. We are pleased to support Healthy Kids' efforts to reach those children who still lack access to basic health care services."

Since its inception on January 2, 2001, Healthy Kids has enrolled more than 9,000 children, far exceeding original projections. Because of high demand, and the fact that tobacco settlement provides only 35% of the total money needed to insure all children who may qualify for the program, additional funding is crucial so Healthy Kids can continue enrolling and providing children with health care services. It costs approximately $1,000 per year, per child to provide comprehensive services through the Healthy Kids program. This means that the CHCF grant will cover 1,000 additional children, the California Endowment grant 950 and The Health Trust grant 500.

"There are two key components of access to care for underserved children: access to low-cost insurance and capacity for primary medical and dental care." said Gary Allen, president of The Health Trust. "We have experienced first-hand the huge demand for this program and have provided this grant so that every child, who needs it, will receive the health care they deserve. We are pleased to join with key California funders to address the insurance side. This complements our primary focus of enhancing access to and building capacity for health related services."

"Healthy Kids is a meaningful solution to providing health insurance to all of the county's uninsured children regardless of immigration status or eligibility requirements for publicly funded programs," said Robert K. Ross, M.D., president and CEO of The California Endowment. "The Endowment continues to work toward expanding access to health insurance to the state's uninsured residents and is pleased to partner with the Santa Clara Family Health Foundation to bring us closer to that goal."

About California HealthCare Foundation The California HealthCare Foundation, based in Oakland, is an independent philanthropy committed to improving California's health care delivery and financing systems. CHCF's work focuses on informing health policy decisions, advancing efficient business practices, improving the quality and efficiency of care delivery, and promoting informed health care and coverage decisions. For more information about the California HealthCare Foundation, visit http://www.chcf.org/.

About The Health Trust
The Health Trust is a public benefit corporation committed to improving access to and awareness of health and wellness services among the underserved in Silicon Valley. Through grant making, operating programs and incubating initiatives, The Health Trust leverages resources to provide, support and move forward both basic and innovative health solutions to enhance personal productivity and quality of life. The Health Trust works with other health-related organizations to improve access to primary health, dental care and health education to at-risk, underserved youth in our community.

The Health Trust operates eight school-based health centers and a mobile dental clinic that offer accessible, primary medical and dental care to low-income children and adolescents in four school districts. At these clinics, trained application assistors enrolled 3000 qualified children during 2001 into the Healthy Kids program as well as Medi-Cal and Healthy Families. The Health Trust has been committed to providing enrollment support for Healthy Kids from its inception. For more information about The Health Trust, visit http://www.healthtrust.org/.

About The California Endowment
The California Endowment was established in 1996 to expand access to affordable, quality health care for underserved individuals and communities, and to promote fundamental improvements in the health status of all Californians. The Endowment has regional offices in Los Angeles, San Francisco, Sacramento, Fresno and San Diego with program staff working throughout the state. The Endowment makes grants to organizations and institutions that directly benefit the health and well-being of the people of California. For more information, visit http://www.calendow.org/

About Santa Clara Family Health Foundation
In May 2000, Santa Clara Family Health Plan established the Santa Clara Family Health Foundation. The Foundation was formed to distribute excess revenues realized by the Health Plan to community health programs, and to be a vehicle for seeking and receiving grant funds to support health services research and innovative health care programs for Santa Clara County residents. For more information about Santa Clara Family Health Foundation, visit http://www.healthykidsfund.org/.

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