Increased Enrollment

Since 2004, we have covered over 15,000 children in the locally funded Healthy Kids program, as well as in Healthy Families and Medi-Cal.

Healthy Kids Enrollment Statistics

Currently, there are about 2,000 children enrolled in Healthy Kids.

During the past six years (June 2004 - March 2010), over 15,000 kids have been covered through Healthy Kids, Healthy Families, and Medi-Cal.

The following Health Plan enrollment figures for Healthy Kids, Healthy Families, and Medi-Cal programs is based on enrollment data from June 2004 - March 2010.

Health Plan	Individual Children enrolled (unduplicated)
Healthy Kids	4,088
Healthy Families	7,591
Medi-Cal	3,349
Total	15,028

Healthy Kids Outreach

Healthy Kids partners with First 5, Santa Cruz County Health Services and Human Services Departments and the Central California Alliance for Health, to ensure comprehensive community-wide outreach, enrollment and retention activities.

We work with some 30 bilingual Certified Application Assistors (CAAs), situated at community centers, clinics, schools and other sites to help families navigate complex enrollment applications.

Using a web-based enrollment tool, every effort is made to ensure a simplified "one-stop-shop" application process so that children are efficiently enrolled and retained in the coverage program for which they are eligible.

At the same time, Healthy Kids of Santa Cruz County is partnering with state-wide children's advocates and the United Way in order to expand health care coverage to all California children.

For more information on these state-wide efforts, visit California Children's Health Initiatives (CCHI). CCHI is a coalition of local health coverage programs like Healthy Kids of Santa Cruz County which operate in 29 counties throughout California.

Increased Access and Cost Savings

While evaluations of Healthy Kids programs in other counties have shown our model increases access, improves parent confidence, and reduces missed school days, Santa Cruz County-specific evaluations show:

1. Well Child visits for 3 to 6-year olds increased by more than 17% since 2005, putting our program just below the 90th percentile for national Medicaid standards. [1]
2. Adolescent Well Care increased by over 17% since 2005 (putting us just under Medicaid's 90th percentile) a strong performance in an age group that is typically resistant of any kind of preventative care. [2]
3. Data for Children's Access to Primary Care Practitioner and Outpatient Visits per Thousand Member Months show that Healthy Kids members are making good use of primary care services; they are assigned to a medical home and are utilizing it. This is also evidenced by relatively low acute visits (ED and Inpatient). [3]
4. Nearly 80% of 4-6 year olds are receiving an annual dental check-up (placing us well above the 90th percentile for Medicaid which is 65.7%). [4]
5. Healthy Kids annual retention rate is over 85% (compared with Healthy Families at 80%). [5]
6. According to a 2008 study by USC, between 2000 and 2005, Santa Cruz, along with eight other California counties operating a Healthy Kids program, showed a 25% reduction in preventable hospitalizations per year. Thus, 1,050 hospitalizations were prevented annually for asthma, bacterial pneumonia, gastroenteritis and dehydration and other events. This resulted in collective cost savings of over $7 million per year. [6]

Increased Local Investment

Since our launch in 2004, Santa Cruz County has secured over $13 million for the Healthy Kids program. Of that, over $10 million has been contributed by local County sources.

Annual leadership support has been provided by our County's Board of Supervisors and our local First 5 Commission.

We've also received consistent - and growing - support from local foundations, hospitals, individuals and businesses who increasingly view Healthy Kids as a community asset which is having a direct impact on the health and well-being of local children.

For more Information

If you want more information on eligibility or how to enroll in Healthy Kids, Healthy Families or Medi-Cal, please call (831) 763-8568 or (831) 454-2515 or call or visit one of our Enrollment Assistance Locations below.

If you want to contact the Healthy Kids Health Plan administrator, please visit Central California Alliance for Health

If you have questions or need further information about the Healthy Kids program and our coalition, please contact us

[1] 2008 HEDIS evaluation, Central California Alliance for Health
[2] 2008 HEDIS
[3] 2008 HEDIS
[4] 2008 HEDIS
[5] Biannual Healthy Kids Evaluation Report, January-June 2009
[6] Michael R. Cousineau, DrPH, Gregory Stevens, PHD - "Preventable Hospitalizations Among children in California Counties after Child Health Insurance Expansion Initiatives," Medical Care, February 2008.