To mothers of children without health insurance, I say ask your loved ones where they receive care. There is a good chance that if the clinic is small enough, you'll be able to obtain healthcare coverage there.

I am undocumented - I have been waiting 13 years for immigration to process my application - but my three sons were born in California. Two of my sons are insured through the program “Healthy Families”, while my baby is covered under Medi-Cal. Because we earn too much to stay on Medi-Cal, we plan to move the baby over to Healthy Families once he turns one.

For now, we are happy with Healthy Families. We pay $20 a month - which will go up to $26 o $28 once the baby is covered by Healthy Families - and $5 per visit. La Clínica de La Raza en Oakland, which also provides care to undocumented immigrants, helped us fill out the application.

The degree of difficulty it is to obtain healthcare coverage, depends on the county where one lives. For example, I have a cousin in Richmond, California, who fought to have her baby covered under Medi-Cal. On the other hand, I had a relatively easy time in Oakland.

But I don't think that attaining health care for our children should be difficult. That's why I support healthcare reform, which will prohibit companies from discriminating against sick children and includes additional monies to fund more kids in our state. There is so much in this legislation to benefit the health of all of our children who do not deserve to go without medical attention.

Alicia lives with her family in Oakland, California. Para leer este artículo en español, añade este link.