Health insurance is the gateway to health and to our health care system, yet over five million Californians are uninsured, about 800,000 of whom are children. Having health insurance facilitates access to affordable care from a network of health care providers and shields families from financial ruin in the case of a catastrophic medical emergency.

While most Californians have access to employment-based coverage, a growing number of people either work for firms that do not offer health insurance or cannot afford its rapidly increasing cost. Public programs such as Medi-Cal and Healthy Families play a crucial role by offering health insurance to low-income children and some parents. However, many uninsured Californians do not meet the eligibility criteria for these programs and cannot afford or are ineligible for private insurance.

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