BIRMINGHAM, Al. — Rocketing healthcare costs cripple our poor and our economy because it is actually cheaper for those living below poverty income level to quit low-paying jobs and receive government medical aid than to pay high insurance costs and medical bills for their children. In his position as director of Alabama’s Housing Authority, Al Rohling witnessed this firsthand. So he quit his job and formed Child Caring Foundation, an organization that joined with Blue Cross, Blue Shield to provide free medical insurance for children. Previously in Alabama, more than 230,000 children were uninsured, but since 1988 this number has fallen to around 70,000, thanks to programs such as the Child Caring Foundation. Rohling travels throughout Alabama with volunteers from the University of Alabama at Birmingham to offer health screenings at schools. Other states, such as Illinois and California, are following this trend, even though some government officials are frowning on these charitable programs, like Senator Christen Radogno, who, in an interview with Chicago Tribune, voiced her concern about insurance programs like these being too generous.