Health Insurance Program expansion

With an eye on budget battles about to get under way, advocates for young people urged supervisors Thursday to step up The City's Health Kids program, which insures The City's most vulnerable 19- to 24-year-olds.



At a Budget and Finance subcommittee meeting, advocates presented a new report "The Real World: Young Adults and the Healthcare Crisis" pointing out that 46 percent of The City's 60,000 young residents still lack insurance. But it would cost at least $14 million to close the gap.



"We'd love to find $14 million," said Supervisor Chris Daly, adding that the money could be "hard to come by" considering that budget shortfalls are still going on.



Last summer, Mayor Gavin Newsom announced the move toward universal health coverage. Since then, the Health Kids program has dedicated $1.9 million to help 1,300 young adults who were about to lose their coverage through Medi-Cal or other government services.



Next year, up to 700 young people are slated to be added for a total cost of around $3.2 million, but speakers from the Adolescent Health Working Group and Coleman Advocates for Youth said many others would be left in the lurch. Their research found that lacking insurance often means people don't get medical care, even if they become ill.



Ann Ridge, 22, a former foster child who is working her way through college, said she's been without any insurance since she turned 21. Although she had been covered as a foster child earlier in life, her timing in declaring legal independence at age 18 may have cost her the ongoing coverage that some others in her situation are getting.