Skip to content
Support local news and music. Support your community.
Support CapRadio. We wouldn't be here without you.
Support your community's local source for news and music. Support CapRadio. 
Donate Now

View thank you gift options

Capital Public Radio

Capital Public Radio

signal status listen live donate
listen live donate signal status
listen live donate signal status
  • News
    • beats
    • State Government
    • Environment
    • Health Care
    • Business
    • Arts and Lifestyle
    • Food and Sustainability
    • PolitiFact California
    • California Dream
    • Videos
    • Photos
  • Music
    • genres
    • Classical
    • Jazz
    • Roots
    • Eclectic
    • Videos
    • Daily Playlist
  • Programs + Podcasts
    • news
    • Morning Edition
    • All Things Considered
    • Marketplace
    • Insight with Beth Ruyak
    • The View From Here
    • music
    • Acid Jazz
    • At the Opera
    • Classical Music
    • Connections
    • Excellence in Jazz
    • Hey, Listen!
    • Insight Music
    • K-ZAP on CapRadio
    • Mick Martin's Blues Party
    • Programs A-Z
    • Podcast Directory
  • Schedules
    • News
    • Music
    • ClassicalStream
    • JazzStream
    • Weekly Schedule
    • Daily Playlist
  • Community
    • Events Calendar
    • CapRadio Garden
    • CapRadio Reads
    • CapRadio Travels
    • Ticket Giveaways
  • Support
    • Evergreen Gift
    • One-Time Gift
    • Corporate Support / Underwriting
    • Vehicle Donation
    • Stock Gift
    • Legacy Gift
    • Endowment Gift
    • Volunteering
    • Benefits
    • Member FAQ
    • e‑Newsletter
    • Drawing Winners
    • Thank You Gifts
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Close Menu
 We Get Support From:
Become a Supporter 
 We Get Support From:
Become a Supporter 

California Has Head Start Expanding Medicaid Under Obamacare

  •  Pauline Bartolone 
Thursday, November 21, 2013 | Sacramento, CA | Permalink
Listen
/
Update RequiredTo play audio, update browser or Flash plugin.
  

A diverse array of patients trickle in and out of the Sacramento County Primary Care clinic this weekday afternoon.

Byron Crowder walks out the front doors with a manila envelope.

“I just went to the hospital the other day, because I couldn’t walk because of my back. They charged me $800 just for the ER," says Crowder.

Crowder is a full time city college student and occasional day laborer.

He’s been uninsured for three years.

He picked up two applications for public health coverage today.

He wants help paying for his emergency room visits, but isn’t too hopeful he’ll qualify for county help.

“This is a packet they gave me to fill it out, bring it back, with my documents from the doctor, they’re going to deny me, then I have to go to the county building for them to deny me for medical benefits," says Crowder.  

The county’s health program provides coverage of last resort – but Crowder says he’s even been denied for that in the past.

“The system is designed to say no,” says Crowder.  

Medi-Cal Application Process More Streamlined Under ACA

Things may be different for Crowder this time.

Crowder says he makes less than the $15,000 a year, the income level that allows a single person to qualify for expanded Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act.

1120PB graphic"The Affordable Care Act simplifies the Medi-Cal eligibility process," says Elizabeth Landsberg with the Western Center on Law and Poverty.

Starting January 1st, any citizen of California who earns less than 133% of the federal poverty level will be eligible for Medi-Cal.  

"Most people will no longer have an assets test. There’s a federal verification hub, meaning we’re using electronic data to check your information instead of having you have to give paper paystubs. So the rules are simplifying quite a bit under Obamacare," says Landsberg.

Landsberg says California has a huge head start on Medicaid expansion.

A couple years ago, the state allowed counties to create ‘low income health programs’ with federal money, as a pre-cursor to the Affordable Care Act.

About 600,000 low income Californians are already getting coverage - a sizable portion of the one to two million new patients expected in Medi-Cal next year.

"They don’t have to start an application all over again. We’re automatically basically enrolling them in from these county health programs into Medi-Cal automatically, so they don’t have to do a thing," says Landsberg.

Outreach Needed For Maximum Sign-ups

Automatic enrollment is just one reason signing up for Medicaid may be simpler for some people than shopping for private insurance.

While Californians with higher incomes, will be faced with many health plans and prices from which to choose, Medicaid enrollees will have little or no choice of health plan, and there is no premium to pay.

But that doesn’t mean people will flock to the program.

"Despite the fact that Medi-Cal will be free for people who qualify, it is still difficult to outreach to the populations who are eligible," says Jerry Kominski of the UCLA Center for Health Policy Research.

He says everyone benefits from a smooth enrollment process. The more people are insured, the more the public saves in averted emergency room costs.

“We estimate that a pretty significant portion of people who will be newly eligible are still unlikely to unroll at least in the first year or two because they just may not know that these benefits are out there," says Kominski.  

Landsberg says that’s why health fairs and other one-on-one contact is important to sign people up, people like Byron Crowder.

“I haven’t even thought about ObamaCare, I don’t know what Obamacare is,” says Crowder.  

Crowder does know he’d be more productive if he had a regular place for health care. He’ll be waiting to see if the door to health coverage opens to him. A door that is, as of now, mostly closed.  

1120PB BYRON 2 rotator

    Related Stories

  • Special Section: Health Care in Transition

    Open enrollment for health coverage under the Affordable Care Act runs Oct. 1, 2013 through Mar. 31, 2014. Learn more about the plans being offered in California and Nevada and follow the latest national, state and local health care stories here.

 acacapitolcapitolcapitolcapitolhealthcarehealthcare

Pauline Bartolone

Reporter

Pauline Bartolone has been a journalist for more than 15 years, during which she was Capital Public Radio’s healthcare reporter from 2011-2015. Her work has aired frequently on National Public Radio.  Read Full Bio 

Comments

Sign up for ReCap

and never miss the top stories

Delivered to your inbox every Wednesday.

Check out a sample ReCap newsletter.

More Stories

Startup Stock Photos

How California Is Rewriting The Law On Online Privacy

December 7, 2019

Noah Berger / AP

California Not Adequately Prepared To Protect Vulnerable Residents From Natural Disasters, Says Auditor's Report

December 6, 2019

Noah Berger / AP Photo

PG&E Announces $13.5 Billion Settlement With Victims Of Northern California Wildfires

December 6, 2019

Most Viewed

Sacramento State Football Prepares For First Playoff Game In Over 30 Years

A Riverboat That’s Not Afloat: The Old Spirit Of Sacramento

Ceres Pays $4.1 Million To Settle Two Fatal Shooting Lawsuits Involving The Same Officer

What's The Best Way To Help Homeless Sacramento Residents? Here's What They Say.

How California Is Rewriting The Law On Online Privacy

We Get Support From:
Become a Supporter

Most Viewed

Sacramento State Football Prepares For First Playoff Game In Over 30 Years

A Riverboat That’s Not Afloat: The Old Spirit Of Sacramento

Ceres Pays $4.1 Million To Settle Two Fatal Shooting Lawsuits Involving The Same Officer

What's The Best Way To Help Homeless Sacramento Residents? Here's What They Say.

How California Is Rewriting The Law On Online Privacy

Back to Top

  • 7055 Folsom Boulevard
    Sacramento, CA 95826-2625

    • (916) 278-8900
    • Toll-free (877) 480-5900
    • Email Us
    • Submit a News Tip
  • Contact Us

  • About Us

    • Contact Us / Feedback
    • Coverage
    • Directions
    • Jobs & Internships
    • Mission / Vision / Core Values
    • Press
    • Staff Directory
    • Board of Directors
  • Listening Options

    • Mobile App
    • On Air Schedules
    • Playlist
    • Podcasts
    • RSS
  • Connect With Us

    •  Facebook
    •  Twitter
    •  Instagram
    •  YouTube
  • Donate

  • Listen

  • Recap Newsletter

Capital Public Radio stations are licensed to California State University, Sacramento. © 2019, Capital Public Radio. All Rights Reserved. Privacy Policy | Website Feedback FCC Public Files: KXJZ KKTO KUOP KQNC KXPR KXSR KXJS. For assistance accessing our public files, please call 916-278-8900 or email us.