California's Medi-Cal program for poor grows to 12 million

[PoliticAverse]

Since California embraced the federal health care overhaul, the state's Medicaid program for the poor has added more than 2.7 million people, a surprisingly high number that has left the state to grapple with making sure there are enough doctors to care for all of them.

Medi-Cal, the $95 billion joint federal-state program, covers 12 million people — nearly one in every three residents — for their doctor visits, hospital care, pregnancy-related services, as well as some nursing home care, making California the largest health care purchaser in the state.

...

Lawmakers and advocates say the safety net program has grown so big, so fast that without major fixes, California won't be able to provide quality health care for its poor.

"Medi-Cal is turning into an empty promise with an insurance card," said Molly Weedn, a spokesman for We Care for California, a coalition of doctors, hospitals, health plans and labor unions pushing for higher payment rates. Democratic Sen. Ed Hernandez of La Puente and Assemblyman Rob Bonta of Alameda plan to introduce legislation Wednesday to raise rates.

Read more here: http://www.sacbee.com/entertainment/living/health-fitness/article10317917.html

[JayhawkSD]

1. Don't jump on the "blame Obamacare" bandwagon

The Obamacare program signs up a lot of people for MediCal, but the federal government picks up 90% of the tab for them, so those beneficiaries are not the reason for the financial problem that MediCal faces.

They do, however, contribute to the shortage of doctors, since more and more medical providers are refusing to accept MediCal.

[daredtowork]

2. An interestng side effect of this could be

to get a better idea of the numbers of the poor, the numbers of the unemployed, the numbers of the under-employed, etc.

It seems to me these numbers are often minimized or spun positively in order to make whoever is in political power or otherwise responsible look good. But this does a disservice to the poor by hiding the true level of need.

The people eligible for Medi-Cal should reveal the actual levels of need.