Two county supervisors went head-to-head Thursday over whether to spend $7 million to provide health care for 16,000 low-income children -- a move that could reverse the area’s dramatic rates of uninsured kids but also force officials to go millions into debt.
At a Buellton forum, Supervisor Salud Carbajal, a Democrat, strongly endorsed the Children’s Health Initiative, which would direct kids to existing programs or provide insurance for those who don’t have it. Supervisor Brooks Firestone, a Republican, questioned whether the county could afford it.
 Salud Carbajal
The initiative follows a recent finding that Santa Barbara County has the second highest number of uninsured children in the state per capita. About 16,000 kids, or 14.1 percent, lack coverage, according to the 2005 study.
Carbajal and Firestone, who will weigh in on the initiative during the Board Supervisors’ June budget session, both described the Santa Barbara County Taxpayers Association debate as “friendly,” but it did little to change their opposing views. When the concept first came before the supervisors in March, four voted to explore the idea. Firestone cast the lone “no” vote.
 Brooks Firestone
Officials said the initiative would insure 5,000 kids who do not qualify for an existing program due to their immigration status or family income. For up to 11,000 others, it would connect uninsured children with programs they already qualify for, including Medi-Cal and Healthy Families.
Calling the region’s children “our highest priority,” Carbajal said the initiative could prevent costly emergency room visits that often fall to the county and individual health consumers to pay. A doctor’s visit costs $30 for an insured patient, versus $300 at a hospital, he said. “It’s not only financially cost-effective, but appropriate considering that our children are our most vulnerable residents,” Carbajal said after the debate.
For his part, Firestone cited the county’s grim budget realities, including the need for a new jail and the challenge of paying pensions to government retirees.
“We’re predicting a deficit,” Firestone said. “Expenses are going up, and the revenue just isn’t coming in.”
He said the county should wait for the state or federal government to seek coverage for the uninsured, as some expect officials to do.
“It’s going to be done more naturally and appropriately by the state and federal government,” said Firestone, predicting that the initiative could end up costing up to $12 million with inflation. “Don’t waste resources even thinking about it.” |
