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People who were enrolled in Medi-Cal have lost their medical services due to lack of renewal, however, efforts to reach all of California have not stopped and the goal is to make health care accessible to all residents.
The state’s goal has been to keep as many people enrolled as possible, at a time when many other states were using “the great relaxation” to purge their Medicaid rolls.
Yingjia Huang, Deputy Assistant Director of Health Care Benefits and Eligibility (HCBE) for the California Department of Health Care Services, explained during a briefing held by Ethnic Media Services that the state's goal has been to keep as many people enrolled as possible, and to dramatically expand Medical's reach.
He noted that there was a cancellation rate of approximately 21 percent in the medical program each month and approximately 1 million people renewed their registrations. Fortunately, in December the renewal procedures were streamlined through computer systems; thus, the cancellation rate was reduced by 20 percent and continues to decrease with all the automation implemented.
He also explained that in January the expansion was implemented for undocumented people and those aged 49 to 60.
Regardless of immigration status, approximately 700,000 people were transitioned from limited to full-scope benefits.
Despite the large number of members that has been achieved, there is still a long list of people who have been left out for not completing the corresponding procedures, so one of the biggest obstacles is a very thick package of paperwork that seems very complicated.
But what do I fill out? What information should I actually update? It can be very confusing for first-timers, and even those who have been in the program because of the way the questions are asked.
“So we created quite a few educational videos, as well as instructions in all languages, that we shared with the community to help guide our physician members in terms of filling it out and where to return the packet, and even just sharing how there are multiple ways that you can do your renewal online or over the phone,” Huang said.
Asked if people were registered, how could they re-register if they are actually eligible? Huang said there are 90 days after the expiration date.
In the event that the service is needed and the paperwork has not been completed, people should not think that they do not have any medical support, since there is a reimbursement process for the beneficiary.
Vilma Champion, Director of Managed Care and Enrollment for North Valley Health Corporation (EVHC), a federally qualified health center providing primary care services to the San Fernando and Santa Clarita Valleys in Los Angeles County, explained that their focus is to empower health centers, remain at the forefront of health care transformation, promote health equity and advocate for the most vulnerable communities.
“Medical is becoming a vital program for the health and well-being of the communities we serve now that it has expanded coverage from 20 percent to 60 percent for adults 49 and older, regardless of citizenship and immigration status, bringing us closer to health care for all,” Champion said.
He added that primary and preventive services are expected to be provided to more than 6,000 newly eligible medical patients, who will have access to a network of specialists and private hospitals.
Since the start of the cancellation period, NVHC has helped over 5,000 patients submit their renewal packets and has focused on communication strategies.
“You have reviewed the resources made available by the DHCS toolkits. We are sending out messages, printed materials, graphics and videos available for our use; we communicate these important messages through the use of social media, targeted outreach campaigns via text messages and renewal events,” Champion added.
Mr. Fitzgerald Graves is enrolled in Medi-Cal and part of the Kern County African American Network; he explained one of the challenges he noticed when switching health care and facing misinformation, but he understood that everyone is moving to other forms of coverage.
She talked about her experience with her daughter when she was pregnant and not being sure of a medical service. She looked for the easiest and simplest option without receiving adequate care, thus putting the life of her son and her baby at risk. When things got worse, they had the support and the correct information that showed them that they have the right to adequate and quality medical service.
“My daughter expressed her concern to me because she felt that no real report had been made with these doctors, so on January 30th of last year, we lost our grandson,” she said.
From that experience, she learned that it is important to be clear about the information that each person has; if they had had the information they know today, they probably would not have lost their baby.
“She would have selected a specific gynecologist or something, someone who would have done things differently; now I tried to get her to use this new registration as a tool to receive therapy and counseling,” he concluded.
Dara Montejo Chel is the daughter of a sick mother, undocumented immigrants from Mexico. She said that she did not have much information about Medi-Cal. When her mother got sick, she did not want to use the ambulance service for fear of the high costs and not having money to pay. However, later, the doctors guided her to explain about their services and what she was entitled to. When everything became clearer, she was calmer.
Experts agree that medical services are necessary for the entire population, however, there is still much to be done to cover more Californians, and mainly to inform about the corresponding services, not wait until bad circumstances reach families and have to learn during an illness or after a tragedy..
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