CNN’s poll released [in August] shows a striking generational divide over support of Obama’s health care plan, with the reform being significantly more popular among young people than among adults over the age of 50. Nevertheless, every day I try new responses to those that ignorantly assume I don’t care about health care reform because I’m under 30 and supposedly invincible.

A detailed analysis of state-provided data has found racial disparities in health care among the three million New Yorkers in the state’s public insurance programs.

The Los Angeles Healthy Kids program provides health insurance to low income children in the county who have no other source of coverage (including undocumented children and children above the income limits for Medi-Cal and Healthy Families). These findings from a longitudinal survey of parents of young children in the program indicate that access to medical and dental care for enrolled children increased dramatically over time, use of the emergency room went down, and parents perceived improvements in the health status of their children. This analysis is one piece of a broader Urban Institute evaluation of the program.

This brief presents highlights from rigorous, independent evaluations of the Healthy Kids programs in three California counties: Los Angeles, San Mateo, and Santa Clara. Launched by Children’s Health Initiatives (CHIs) in these counties between 2001 and 2003, the three Healthy Kids programs provide children with comprehensive health insurance coverage, including a broad range of medical, dental, and vision care; prescription drugs; and mental health services. Children are eligible for Healthy Kids if they are ineligible for California’s two major state insurance programs, Medi-Cal and Healthy Families, and live in families with incomes up to 300 percent of the federal poverty level (FPL) in Los Angeles and Santa Clara counties, and 400 percent of the FPL in San Mateo County. Most of the children enrolled in Healthy Kids have family incomes at or below the poverty level. This brief describes some of the many positive impacts that Healthy Kids programs have had on children’s access and use of dental services.

Families USA offers an online resource to help you better understand the health care crisis and how to achieve affordable coverage for all. They have gathered a wealth of resources that outline everything you need to know about health care reform.

The health of young children is negatively affected when parents forego health care coverage for themselves or other adult members of the household. Children's HealthWatch finds that children whose families face high health care costs are at increased risk for health problems, developmental delays and food insecurity.

This brief examines the potential effects of health care reform on the more than 25 million children who currently have coverage under Medicaid or the Children's Health Insurance Program. Increased parental coverage will help these children since many have uninsured parents with unmet health needs.

Two Committees in the Senate have been working on separate pieces of health reform legislation. The first, the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee , passed its bill on July 15, 2009. Like the House bill, the HELP Committee's reform legislation would place shared responsibility on individuals, employers, and the government to ensure that most Americans receive health coverage. Key members of the Senate Finance Committee continued bipartisan closed-door meetings to finalize their health reform bill. The full Senate will not vote on health reform legislation prior to its August recess.

Two of the House Committees with jurisdiction over health reform passed legislation out of Committee that would overhaul our nation's health care system. On July 17, the Ways and Means Committee approved the tri-Committee's health reform legislation, the America's Affordable Health Choices Act (H.R. 3200). Later on July 17, the Education and Labor Committee also voted H.R. 3200 out of committee with a vote of 26-22. H.R. 3200 was introduced jointly by the three House Committees on July 14, 2009.

Today, a leading children’s group is praising improvements to made to the House health reform legislation that would guarantee coverage for children’s unique developmental health care needs. Read more from First Focus.