Campaign for Children's Health Care

• Sign Petition for Children’s Health Care!
• No Shelter from the Storm: Report on the Need for Children's Health Care
• National Town Hall Meeting on Children’s Health Coverage

Sign Petition for Children’s Health Care!

As you probably know, there are more than 9 million uninsured children in the United States, while millions more are underinsured. This means that millions of children in America can't see a doctor on a regular basis, can't afford prescription drugs, and can't get preventive care, among other services. They are less likely to do well in school, and more likely to encounter problems with their social and emotional development. This is simply unacceptable--and we mean to do something about it.

That's why Catholic Charities USA is proud to be part of the Campaign for Children's Health Care, a new public education campaign designed to raise awareness about this crisis. The Campaign is dedicated to making comprehensive, affordable, high-quality health coverage for all of America’s children a top priority.

The Campaign for Children’s Health Care urges you to be a part of this exciting effort to bring about health coverage for all children. You can start with a very simply act: signing the online petition and then passing it on to everyone you know:

Sign the Petition for Children's Health Care

You can learn more about the Campaign online at www.childrenshealthcampaign.org. After signing the petition, please urge as many people as possible to sign it and join the Campaign. That way we can reach our objective: high-quality, affordable health insurance for all children!

No Shelter from the Storm

The Campaign for Children’s Health Care has put out an easy-to-read report on the great need for children’s health care. No Shelter from the Storm: America’s Uninsured Children, lays out in stark detail the magnitude of the crisis of uninsured children in America.

View the report

Among the findings:

• There were more than 9 million uninsured children in the United States, ages 0-18--in other words, one out of every nine children is uninsured.
• The five states with the largest number of uninsured children are California (1,368,999), Texas (1,366,638), Florida (718,603), New York (441,434), and Illinois (376,332).
• The five states with the highest rates of uninsured children are Texas (20.4%), Florida (17.0%), New Mexico (16.7%), Nevada (16.4%), and Montana (16.2%)
• The majority of uninsured children —88.3%—come from families where at least one parent works.
• Hispanic and black, non-Hispanic children are disproportionately represented among the ranks of the uninsured. More than 22% of Hispanic children and about 13% of black, non-Hispanic children are uninsured, compared to 7.5% of white, non-Hispanic children.
• More than half of all uninsured children live in two-parent families.
• In more than half of all two-parent families with uninsured children, both parents work.

These and other facts included in the report lay out in stark detail the magnitude of the crisis we face. We hope you’ll read (or at least skim!) the report so that you’ll be armed with the facts as an advocate.

National Town Hall Meeting on Children’s Health Coverage

The Campaign for Children's Health Care will be holding a national town hall meeting on January 11. The 45 minute program will be broadcast via satellite and webcast from Washington, D.C. at 12:00 pm EST. Following the broadcast there will be local events across the country. National health care leaders and policy experts will discuss the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP), Medicaid, and the plight of uninsured children in America.