by Jenny Gold, Kaiser Health News
With millions of Californians gaining coverage under the health care law, counties need to strengthen their health programs to serve the remaining 3 million uninsured people, nearly half of whom are living in the state illegally, according to a report by a statewide advocacy coalition.
Under state law, each county is responsible for providing care to low-income Californians who are uninsured. But eligibility restrictions in county programs vary dramatically, leaving the uninsured with uneven access to care across the state, according to the report by Health Access California.
The coalition, which surveyed all 58 counties last fall, found that 48 of them preclude residents who are in the country illegally from enrolling in county programs, and 43 exclude any resident earning more than twice the federal poverty level. (The poverty level is $11,770 per year for an individual and $24,250 per year for a family of four.)
In 2014, counties worked hard to enroll as many of their residents as possible into new coverage options through the Affordable Care Act, said Anthony Wright, executive director of Health Access. Because millions were enrolled either through the insurance exchange, Covered California, or through Medi-Cal, the government program for the poor, the counties experienced a significant decline in the number of people enrolled in their programs.