Legal aid groups sue state over Medi-Cal approval delays

[alp227]

Groto Ni, a 55-year-old unemployed janitor from Oakland, applied for Medi-Cal in January and said he spent nearly five months in pain from hepatitis, ulcers and other health problems before the state approved his application.

Frances Rivera of Visalia said her adult son also applied for Medi-Cal in January and was granted benefits in late June, more than two months after his death from a pulmonary embolism.

Their cases are part of a lawsuit filed Wednesday by legal aid groups accusing California - which extended Medi-Cal eligibility to more than 2 million low-income residents in January - of violating laws that require a decision on benefits within 45 days.

As of this month, the groups said, 350,000 applicants have been waiting more than 45 days for approval. The suit also accused the state of disregarding laws that allow applicants to receive Medi-Cal while their income is verified, and that entitle them to a hearing after 45 days.

full: http://www.sfgate.com/health/article/Medi-Cal-sued-over-delays-in-approving-new-5767630.php

[daredtowork]

1. Thanks for this

Last edited Sat Sep 20, 2014, 03:26 AM - Edit history (1)

I'm going to ask the reporter what the law is when a Social Services worker deletes you from the Medi-Cal database when you are eligible for Medi-Cal, accepted, have the card, have been using Medi-Cal for months, but now because of his "error" (if that's what it was), you can no longer access any of the services you are supposedly covered for under your "mandated" health care.

Maybe I can hook up with those Bay Area Legal Aid folks as well. They are very hard to reach by phone, though (and a toll call for me).

Update: Just wrote the reporter a really long note. Hopefully something comes of it.

[Suich]

2. Sounds like a nightmare!

Good luck to you!

Keep us posted if you hear anything.

[daredtowork]

3. Thank you

I've posted here a few times about it with little interest.

It's actually an ongoing ramification of me attempting to work to earn money for basic necessities while on welfare (click my sig for details) - DU had a very generous response to that welfare policy issue. But when it came to kicking me off Medi-Cal, the silence was deafening. Someone finally mentioned it was because people on DU might think it could be perceived as a failure of the ACA. So I'd like to clarify the ACA was a great success for me - that was what was getting me off of welfare.

My Medi-Cal problem occurred because a case worker in the Social Services office took my name out of the Medi-Cal database ("erroneously" or not is up for debate). It has nothing to do with the ACA: I'm eligible, I qualified, I did the paperwork, I was already in it, and I had been been receiving treatment under it since January. The staff of "Covered California" didn't cause my problem and they can't fix it - only Social Services can fix it. I was in fact a postergirl for the success of the ACA until Sept. 2 when I was criminally deleted from the Medi-Cal database.