KidsCare gets a needed boost

On behalf of the board of directors and staff of the Arizona Foundation for Behavioral Health, I want to acknowledge the UofA Health Network, Phoenix Children’s Hospital, and Maricopa Integrated Health System for their efforts to bring forward a proposal to the AHCCCS administration which, with the approval of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid, has reinstituted a modified KidsCare program.

The new program, known as KidsCare II, will serve about 21,000 children in households with incomes between 100-175 percent of the federal poverty level, or just over $33,000 for a family of three. Notices were recently sent to families with children on the KidsCare waiting list instituted in January 2010 so they may reapply on behalf of their children.

In an era of budget constraints and difficult policy choices, these three hospital systems came forward with a creative solution that will preserve essential health care services, at least for some children. This “can do” attitude should be commended and appreciated by all residents in Arizona.

Our thanks go out to the UofA Health Network, Phoenix Children’s Hospital and Maricopa Integrated Health System for advocating and finding solutions for Arizona’s children in need of health care. We hope that our community follows their lead in solving the ongoing waiting list for children in the KidsCare program. We must invest in our children and you have provided a positive example.

— Ted Williams, CEO & president, Arizona Foundation for Behavioral Health