Leading civil rights groups, including the Asian American Justice Center (AAJC), the Children's Defense Fund (CDF), the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), the National Congress of American Indians (NCAI), and the National Council of La Raza (NCLR), have partnered to urge Congress to to realize America’s promise of covering all children, ensuring that the millions of uninsured and underinsured children are not forgotten during the health care reform debate.

Despite the expansion of the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP), an estimated 5-6 million children will still remain uninsured.  This new coalition of civil rights leaders is urging Congress to pass legislation this year that will ensure every child and pregnant woman in America is provided access to comprehensive, affordable health coverage. The organizations have committed to focus their lobbying and grassroots efforts around advocacy for covering all children as part of national health care reform.

The coalition is urging that health care reform legislation must incorporate the following in order to make President Obama’s promise of coverage for all children in America a reality in 2009: 

• Coverage Must Be Affordable: Establish a national eligibility floor of 300 percent of the federal poverty level for all children and pregnant women, with an affordable sliding scale buy-in above that level.
• Children and Pregnant Women Must Have Access to Comprehensive Benefits: Guarantee every child and pregnant woman timely access to all medically necessary services and products to maximize health and development with:
  • Emphasis on prevention and early detection and treatment.
  • No pre-existing condition exclusion or waiting period.
  • Appropriate post-partum coverage.
  • High quality, age-appropriate services from providers in their communities.
  • Culturally and linguistically appropriate services to ensure families receive the care for which they are eligible.
  • Protection of access to care regardless of race, ethnicity or national origin.
• The System Must Be Simple, Seamless and Equitable: To ensure children get enrolled and stay enrolled, the following are necessary:
  • Short, simple, understandable application – Form must be uniformly used and barriers such as asset tests, waiting lists, and other barriers that delay or limit enrollment must be prohibited.
  • Automatic enrollment – All opportunities to identify and enroll children should be utilized, including at birth, enrollment in school, participation in child-serving programs and in health settings.
  • Presumptive eligibility – An uninsured child should be presumed eligible for coverage at point of service.
  • 12-month continuous enrollment with automatic renewal – Children’s coverage should be guaranteed for a full year regardless of family income changes; renewal  processes, including verification of income, must utilize all available technology to minimize burdens on families.

Press release from April 17, 2009 briefing.