Health system commended for role in assisting uninsured children

The Sacramento City Council recently hosted a special reception to thank UC Davis Health System and other founders of the Mayor’s Commission on Children’s Health, a program that reaches out to families with uninsured children and helps them qualify for Med-Cal, Healthy Families, Healthy Kids and other programs.

Other founders of the Mayor’s Commission on Children’s Health are Catholic Healthcare West, Kaiser Permanente and Sutter Health. UC Davis Health System has provided continuous support to the commission since 1998. To date, the commission has helped more than 18,000 children. As many as 25,000 children 18-years-old and under in Sacramento County are uninsured.

The Mayor’s Commission estimated that about two-thirds of these uninsured children qualify for existing public-health programs, but are not enrolled in them.

Accepting a commendation presented by Sacramento Mayor Heather Fargo were Vice Chancellor of Human Health Sciences and School of Medicine Dean Claire Pomeroy, and interim medical center CEO Bill McGowan.