WHEREAS, Nearly nine million children in America are uninsured and of these uninsured children, nearly 1.3 million of them reside in California; and

WHEREAS, Almost six million uninsured children in the United States are eligible for health coverage under the federal Medicaid program or the federal State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP), but are not enrolled, often due to excessive enrollment barriers; and

WHEREAS, The United States is the wealthiest nation in the world, but the status of children’s health in our country, as measured by selected indicators, is among the worst in the industrialized world; and

WHEREAS, Every year, roughly 750,000 pregnant women in the United States are uninsured and lack timely access to essential health services and approximately 28,000 children die each year before their first birthday, ranking the United States 25th among 30 industrialized countries in infant mortality; and

WHEREAS, Almost one out of every four children who are two years of age is not fully immunized; and

WHEREAS, One in 12 babies born in the United States has a low birth weight; and

WHEREAS, Health insurance premiums and health care costs have risen four times faster than wages at the same time that fewer employers are providing coverage for employees; and

WHEREAS, Health care costs for working families continue to rise, making it difficult for the families to afford insurance or access to quality care; and

WHEREAS, A 2008 report by the California HealthCare Foundation cites research from the Employee Benefit Research Institute indicating that the percentage of uninsured Californians under 65 years of age has continued to rise over the last two decades as employer-sponsored health insurance has declined. Between 1987 and 2007, employer-sponsored health care coverage declined almost 8 percent, and although Medi-Cal and individually purchased coverage partially offset that decline, more than 6.6 million Californians remained uninsured; and

WHEREAS, In California, an estimated $212 billion was spent on health care in 2008, which is sufficient to provide every resident of the state with excellent health care, ensure fair reimbursement to providers, and guarantee a high quality of care for all; and

WHEREAS, Children are particularly vulnerable in the current economic downturn and at a time of massive federal and state budget deficits; and

WHEREAS, The Children’s Defense Fund is leading a national campaign to guarantee comprehensive health coverage for all children and pregnant women, having convened hundreds of groups and secured endorsements from almost 1,300 organizations representing more than 60 million people throughout the United States; and

WHEREAS, Uninsured children are less likely to receive needed medical care and attention than adults; and

WHEREAS, Extending coverage to children is cost effective because children with coverage are more likely to receive immunizations and receive services at the primary care level, avoiding costly and unnecessary emergency room care; and

WHEREAS, The Congress of the United States is currently debating health care legislation that would shift our nation’s system of health care toward a comprehensive and universal structure and the President of the United States has urged Congress to pass this legislation before the congressional recess begins on August 8, 2009; and

WHEREAS, Any health care reform legislation should establish a national eligibility level to cover all children and ensure that coverage is affordable, guarantee a national benefit package that covers all medically necessary health, mental health, and dental services, ensure that children are enrolled in the national benefit package and stay enrolled by eliminating known barriers to enrollment and instituting automatic enrollment of eligible children, and include reasonable reimbursement rates to ensure that children with health coverage actually receive medical services when and where they are needed; and

WHEREAS, It is imperative for our nation’s health and economy that every child and pregnant woman have access to affordable health and mental health coverage and services; now, therefore, be it