Martin Espinoza’s story – read it here – testifies to the price Californians will pay for the absence of common sense in state government. It will be only one example among many.

In Sonoma County, he reports, some 10,000 kids – children of the poor and the working poor – will be denied health care.

This was done in the name of saving money – but it won’t save money. It simply transfers the cost of these kids’ health care to the local health care economy – to hospitals, clinics, physicians and others who care for uninsured patients. A health care system already under stress will be hammered one more time.

As Public Health Officer Mary Maddux-González told Espinoza, “Not only does this hurt children’s health it results in higher costs because parents end up seeking episodic care at emergency rooms at much higher costs.”

When government refuses to change, the most vulnerable will be the first victims.