Not-For-Profit California Consortium Aims To Provide Care to Children of Undocumented Immigrants

Approximately 1,000 additional children of undocumented immigrants living in Orange County, Calif., will have access to health services through a not-for-profit consortium, the Los Angeles Times reports. The consortium is made up of hospitals, clinics and the CaliforniaKids Healthcare Foundation, which pays for health coverage for about 19,000 children in 33 counties who cannot qualify for Healthy Families, California's CHIP program, because they are undocumented. In Orange County, about 5,000 undocumented children are already covered through the program, which is funded in part by tobacco settlement funds. About 15,000 to 20,000 children in Orange County are undocumented and uninsured. Blue Cross of California provides health insurance, Delta Dental provides dental care coverage and Wellpoint covers prescription costs for program participants. CaliforniaKids pays claims for enrolled children and in some cases, insurers waive fees (Mena, Los Angeles Times, 5/11).