7/30/2019 Support the Full Medi-Cal Expansion

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Medi-Cal Expansion At aGlance:

Expand affordable health care for peopleliving below 138% of the federal povertylevel ($1285 monthly for a single person)Continue coverage for the 500,000beneficiaries in a county LIHPMaximize federal dollars coming toCalifornias economyCreate a culture of coverage for thestates lowest income individuals

Background

California is home to approximately 7million people without health insurance.Californians living in poverty aresignificantly more likely to be uninsuredthan their higher-income counterparts,due to the high costs of health care andthe lack of affordable options available tothem. The uninsured are more likely to gowithout regular, needed care, are morelikely to be saddled with medical debt,

and have decreased life expectancies.

But the chance to greatly reduce thenumber of uninsured, low-income adultsis within our grasp. The Supreme Courtruled in June that the federal governmentcannot withhold all Medicaid funding ifa state does not expand its Medicaidprogram (Medi-Cal in California) toadults ages 18 to 64 with incomes up to138 % of the Federal Poverty Level($15,415 annually for an individual), butthe federal government has committed topaying all of the cost to cover thispopulation for the first three years, andwill continue to cover at least 90 percentafter that. Before, adults were only eligiblefor Medicaid if they were a parent, senioror had a disability, but now states cancover these childless adults.

SolutionTo save lives and stimulate the stateseconomy, California must expand Medi-Cal to cover the over 1.4 million peoplewho would be newly eligible for theprogram starting January 1, 2014.Important benefits of the Medi-Calexpansion include:

Provide the only realistic coverage

option for the states lowest-incomeresidents that providescomprehensive benefits and nominalcost sharing;Maintain coverage for 500,000 low-income adults in the Low IncomeHealth Program (LIHP), part of thestates promise to provide coverageto the poor;Relieve the strain on the states safety

net providers like hospitalemergency rooms and clinics whocurrently serve the uninsured butwill see their federal fundingdecrease;Provide full federal funding for thenewly-eligible enrollees through2016, then goes to a 9 to 1 federal tostate dollar share by 2020 andbeyond;

Infuse federal dollars in the state tocreate and sustain jobs in the healthcare workforce.

Support the Full Medi-Cal ExpansionExpanding Medi-Cal for low-income Californians

saves lives and stimulates the economy