jueves, 06 de octubre de 2005
Keeping Napa County kids healthy
In 1999, tobacco companies and states reached an agreement that would send $206 billion to government agencies in 46 states. The money was designed to be used for health-related issues, as the underlying case was about the ravages of smoking and the cigarette companies' role in hiding information about how addictive their products are.
Since that time, states have found creative uses for that money -- not all of which have been on point.
But Napa County has stuck to the spirit of the agreement by banking the money from Big Tobacco and using funds from what will eventually become an endowment to support local health care agencies.The county's stewardship of the money and decision to keep it flowing toward the intended causes is admirable.
This week, the Napa County Board of Supervisors was asked to consider another project consistent with the intended uses of the tobacco settlement: Provide health care coverage to local children.
On Tuesday, representatives of the Children's Health Initiative approached the board with a plan to gain health insurance for some 10,000 Napa County children.
The plan, estimated to cost about $1.5 million in its first three years, would be funded by a variety of government and charitable funds. The county's part would amount to $100,000 a year.
While poor access to health care insurance is a serious problem for millions of people in the United States, children are among the most vulnerable.
Connie Battisti of the Children's Health Initiative laid out evidence that health insurance can have positive effects on everything from limiting childhood obesity to improving academic performance among young people.
The request comes at a time of vigorous debate about the role of government in funding health care. Some point to the Canadian health care system, where all receive health insurance, as the direction the United States should go. Others say the government is not as likely a provider of quality health care as the private sector, and that the Canadian system is deeply flawed.
The Children's Health Initiative, though, is a more modest project that does not ask the government to take a major role in health care. It is simply seeking access to some money to achieve an important health-related goal that will improve the quality of life for thousands of kids in Napa Valley.
The board will soon consider the request for county funds. We encourage the county to support this far-reaching initiative.