350,000 Working Families' Health Coverage At Risk
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (BW HealthWire) - In an unprecedented move, a statewide network of community health centers, children's advocates, health plans,
health consumer groups, and others have joined together to urge the state to stop a process that could cause an estimated 350,000 low income Californians, primarily children in working families, to lose health insurance by the end of the month.
These 350,000 families in jeopardy of losing health coverage are part of
the welfare reform efforts to move people from cash assistance to work. Under the 1996 federal welfare reform act, provisions were made to ensure families transitioning off cash assistance would not also lose their health coverage. California, however, did not implement its welfare reform until 1998 when it created CalWORKS. The health care problem arose when CalWORKS was created, but no provisions ensuring continued health coverage to CalWORKS participants were made. As a result, the health care coverage for these families was put on hold. Since 1998 the number of families in
this "hold" category has grown to approximately 350,000.
"We are concerned that these Medi-Cal eligible families will join the ranks of the 7 million uninsured in California just because county official are rushing to meet an arbitrary deadline," said Carmela Castellano, CEO of California Primary Care Association (CPCA).
Preliminary sampling of "hold" status cases in several counties indicates that 80 percent to 95 percent of these families on the verge of losing their health coverage are in fact Medi-Cal eligible.
"It doesn't make sense that the State and Federal governments are spending millions of dollars a year on outreach for children's Medi-Cal and Healthy Families programs, while at the same time allowing hundreds of thousands
of children to lose their health insurance coverage. These are children who are currently enrolled in Medi-Cal, 80%-95% of whom are likely to continue to be eligible," said Deena Lahn of The Children's Defense Fund.
Last week, state officials announced they would not extend a previously issued deadline of April 30th, despite complaints from numerous counties
that indicated it would be impossible to meet the deadline. Although the
April 30th deadline was not extended, state officials indicated that there would be no penalty for counties who failed to meet the processing deadline.
"Hurry up and process all of the cases by April 30th, but `it's okay if you don't,' is a mixed message which is a recipe for chaos, confusion and disaster," said Holly Mitchell, Legislative Advocate for the Western Center on Law and Poverty. "We're concerned that many children and their
families will fall through the cracks, jeopardizing their health care as
well as their welfare to work efforts."
"Instead of following an arbitrarily imposed deadline, the simple solution is for the state to clearly instruct the counties to wait to review each
family's case when its regularly scheduled annual re-determination process is due," recommended Mitchell.
Health plans and community clinics that treat these families are already
playing a central role in contacting their patients to ensure that they complete the necessary paperwork to retain their health coverage.
"Our clinics statewide have begun a grassroots effort to prevent their patients from losing their Medi-Cal eligibility. We urge local, county and state officials to work closely with providers to prevent this catastrophe," said Castellano.
California Primary Care Association is a statewide advocacy network of 450 non-profit community-based health centers and clinics serving primarily indigent and uninsured individuals and families. The 100% Campaign: Health Insurance for Every California Child is a joint effort of Children Now, the Children's Defense Fund and The Children's Partnership. Western Center on Law and Poverty is a legal advocacy organization dedicated to protecting the rights of indigent, vulnerable and medically underserved Californians.
-- Marta Russell author, Los Angeles, CA Beyond Ramps: Disability at the End of the Social Contract http://www.commoncouragepress.com/ramps.html