At ages two and six months, Mylie and Darrin McCanna are flourishing. Mylie is learning a new word just about every day and Darrin is sitting up and grabbing for his sister’s toys. Even so, their health care is breaking their parents’ budget.

Five-year-old Tony Johnson has never had health coverage. His mother, Paula, has managed to get him and his four older siblings all their immunizations thanks to mobile vans offering free shots, but the Kent family can’t afford well-child visits or dental check-ups for the children.

Six-year-old Zoe Osborne had the hardest possible start in life. Born very premature at 25 weeks, she spent the first eight months of her life in the intensive care unit. Getting Zoe the therapies she needs costs the family $1,000 a month, the tube feeding hundreds more.

Being born with a hole in your heart and cysts on one lung can make growing up really tough. Just ask Sarah. "Sometimes it's hard because I can't breathe and I want to ride my bike."

When Lorena Larios was up for a $300 a month promotion, accepting it was a no brainer—until she learned that the increase in income would boot her children off the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP).