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California鈥檚 Medicaid program, Medi-Cal, is the largest in the nation, serving roughly 14 million low-income people, including nearly 40% of the state鈥檚 children. The state is embarking on a massive transformation of the program, which has been slammed for providing subpar care and limited access to specialty treatment. The goal is to improve health care quality and save money. Will it work?
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California is among a growing number of states that offer dental benefits to low-income residents, but some lawmakers want the state to go further by covering more cleanings and costlier implants. Dentists and health experts worry the approach doesn鈥檛 address the root of the problem: Many providers don鈥檛 accept Medicaid.
Gov. Gavin Newsom鈥檚 ambitious experiment in health care is supposed to cut costs as it fills the needs of hard-to-reach people. The program鈥檚 start is chaotic and limited, but it shows promise.
Gov. Gavin Newsom is making a bold push for Medicaid health plans to provide more housing support. He argues it鈥檚 cheaper to pay for rent than to allow homeless people to fall into crisis, which requires costly care in hospitals, nursing homes, and jails.
Medi-Cal serves more than one-third of the state鈥檚 population 鈥 offering a dizzying range of care to a diverse population. In the new 鈥淔aces of Medi-Cal鈥 series, California Healthline will assess the program鈥檚 strengths and weaknesses through the lives and experiences of its enrollees.
After the Department of Health Care Services canceled Medi-Cal contract awards under pressure from major insurers, some consumer advocates question the administration鈥檚 willpower to improve care in the safety-net program.
MLK Community Hospital in South Los Angeles is surrounded by poverty, homeless encampments, and food deserts. Even though California Gov. Gavin Newsom is funneling billions of taxpayer money into an ambitious initiative to provide some low-income patients with social services, hospital executives and other critics say it won鈥檛 improve access to basic care.
Four managed-care insurance plans may lose contracts with California鈥檚 Medicaid program, which would force nearly 2 million low-income residents to switch their health plans 鈥 and possibly their doctors. The plans are fighting back.
California has embarked on an ambitious five-year initiative to improve the health of its sickest Medicaid patients by introducing nontraditional services. In the Inland Empire, where many residents have diabetes, one health plan is diving into the experiment by delivering healthy, prepared meals to those lucky enough to get them.
Many of the 14 million patients in Medi-Cal are in managed care health plans that outsource their care to subcontractors or sub-subcontractors. For patients with difficult health care needs, it can be hard to know where to turn.
In January, California鈥檚 Medicaid program will begin offering nontraditional services 鈥攕uch as ridding homes of roaches, replacing mattresses and installing air purifiers 鈥 to some low-income asthma patients. But the rollout could be chaotic, with insurance companies struggling to identify groups that can deliver the services.
The nine commercial insurers in Medi-Cal must reapply by submitting bids for new contracts. The state hopes the process will improve care for low-income residents and tighten accountability, something critics say has been missing.
California is embarking on a five-year experiment to infuse its health insurance program for low-income people with billions of dollars in nonmedical services spanning housing, food delivery and addiction care. Gov. Gavin Newsom said the goal is to improve care for the program鈥檚 sickest and costliest members and save money, but will it work?
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