And if they take away Medi-Cal, what are we going to do?” asks Salvadoran Dinora Hernández, mother of little Liam Luna Hernández, who is about to turn five .
Dinora and hundreds of thousands of parents, as well as health advocates, are distressed because the Public Health Emergency Covid-19 expires next July 10 and the administration of President Joe Biden plans to extend it 90 days, only until the month of October.
Under this scenario, to obtain the guarantees of Medicaid services and coverage, it will be required, once again, to verify the eligibility of all those enrolled, including children.
This would mean that some 40 million who receive Medicaid or are part of the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) in the United States are at risk of running out of emergency medical coverage from due to the redetermination of beneficiaries.
Of the estimated total, 5.7 million children of color have California Medi-Cal (Medicaid/CHIP) as their main source of coverage, including little Liam.
“We sounded the alarm, although there is no permanent conclusion,” said Joan Alker, professor and executive director of the Center for Children and Families at Georgetown University, during a press conference of Ethnic Media Services (EMS). “We hope that everyone involved in providing solutions will work together.”
Since February, said university presented a report entitled “Millions of children may lose Medicaid: What can be done to help to prevent them from being left without insurance?
In said report, it is analyzed that when the massive redetermination of eligibility occurs, the results will vary enormously for the depending on where they live and how states handle the transition.
In California, an estimated 2-3 million Californians would lose their Medi-Cal coverage, including between 800,000 and 1.2 million children’s. Other states where Medicaid recipients may be at particular risk include Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Missouri, Nevada, and Texas.
“Medi-Cal has helped me by the time I My children get sick and I have to run to the emergency room, especially since Liam suffers from many skin allergies”, Dinora Pérez to Real America News.
“Until now they haven’t told me that they are going to take away my Medi-Cal or that I have to re-register the children.”
The aid for the Salvadoran mother would be in the approval of the bill AB 2402, of Assemblywoman Blanca Rubio (D-Balwin Park) that would guarantee Multi-year Medi-Cal coverage for children ages 0-5, who may be offered a long-term coverage model. AB2402 has already been approved in the Assembly Appropriations Committee.
“We are barely halfway through the legislative process” , told Real America News Minnie Santillán, spokesperson for Rubio’s office.
The solution in California
According to this bill AB 2402, a child under age 5 would be continuously eligible for Medi-Cal, even without regard to family income, and would prohibit redetermination of eligibility until before he is five years old.
“The governor has had a lot of leadership and commitment to children since he came to office,” said Mayra E. Álvarez, president of The Children Partnership, a children’s advocacy agency around expectations of Governor Newsom’s political will to sign AB into law2402.
“In your past decisions it has prioritized children; the next step is between the Legislature and the Senate [estatal], and while the budget is reviewed, we hope that in the process medical coverage will be a priority for the governor”, he added.
Indeed, California’s current $227 billion surplus has provided an unprecedented opportunity to rebuild and build a strong health care system for long-term early childhood, within a total budget of 227,400 million for the next fiscal year that begins in July.
On the governor’s position regarding the bill, Omar Rodríguez, spokesman of Newsom said, “We typically don’t comment on pending legislation.”
July is a key month
Among the highlights in the budget plan revised in May by Newsom’s office are health care, literacy and inte Early intervention and transitional kindergarten, as well as new investments in behavioral health services for children and youth, such as funding for youth suicide prevention, but did not earmark direct funding for children ages 0-5.
The May budget review also provides funds to support the redetermination of Medi-Cal enrollees’ eligibility if the federal public health emergency that guarantees continued coverage ends, as is expected for 15 July 2022.
In addition, the inclusion of changes in the eligibility threshold of the Early Start program, intended for early intervention for infants and toddlers with disabilities and their families, demonstrates a commitment to identifying and addressing developmental delays in the youngest children in their earliest developmental years.
“California will do everything possible to r keep all people eligible for Medi-Cal coverage, after the federal public health emergency (PHE) is lifted,” Anthony Cava, spokesman for the Department of Health Care Services (DHCS) of the Department of Health, told Real America News. state government.
Petition to Newsom
However, the First 5 Network was disappointed to see that the The governor did not prioritize maintaining continued eligibility for children until they are 5 years old without needing an eligibility review. That could mean thousands of California’s youngest children will lose coverage for doctor visits and preventive services, including immunizations and critical developmental screenings.
Therefore, the First 5 network asked the governor to take advantage of the state senate’s priority project “Putting Wealth to Work Plan” (Putting wealth to work), which includes $10 million for ongoing Medi-Cal eligibility for children birth to five years old.
“We know that 50 percent of the time children lose Medicare coverage -Cal, the reason is a general category called non-response,” said Kitty Lopez, president of the California First 5 Association. “We also know that 90 percent of brain development occurs before the age of five, and ensuring that young children have regular access to prevention and detection, without facing bureaucratic barriers, is an investment in your long-term health and well-being”.