San Francisco Business Times - by Chris Rauber

The Blue Shield of California Foundation, the philanthropic arm of San Francisco’s Blue Shield of California health plan, said Thursday it will award more than $10 million to California nonprofits this quarter, most of it to support Healthy Kids insurance programs statewide.

Specifically, the first-quarter grants will:

·               Fund 19 months of premium subsidy support to the Children’s Health Initiative coalitions, which administer Healthy Kids programs across the state. Up to $7.75 million in funding will provide health coverage for 7,000 children ages 6 to 18 from families that are at or below 300 percent of the federal poverty level, and are ineligible for existing public health insurance programs.

·               Provide $1.4 million to the National Family Justice Center Alliance to launch the California Family Justice Initiative, a network of nine “one-stop” domestic violence centers across California. The California alliance will also use BSCF funds to support three regional training centers in Alameda County, Anaheim and San Diego, as well as six multi-function “one-stop” centers across the state.

·               Give $998,000 to Washington, D.C.-based AmericaSpeaks to encourage community leaders and residents in California to “participate more effectively” in the state and national healthcare debate. The new funding builds on a successful 2007 CaliforniaSpeaks event, which Blue Shield says engaged thousands of Californians in the health reform discussion.

“Keeping the goal of universal coverage in the forefront is a top priority,” said Crystal Hayling, the foundation’s president and CEO. “We hope to see California very much at the table in the health reform discussion.”

In mid-January, the foundation announced that it would stop making health-care technology grants this year, so it can focus on other “urgent” priorities in tough economic times, including achieving universal coverage for all Californians, building a safety net for families in crisis, and working to end domestic violence in California.