(C) Daily Kos
This story was originally published by Daily Kos and is unaltered.
. . . . . . . . . .
Thousands of young Californians will no longer be at risk of health coverage gap under new policy [1]
['Daily Kos Staff', 'Backgroundurl Avatar_Large', 'Nickname', 'Joined', 'Created_At', 'Story Count', 'N_Stories', 'Comment Count', 'N_Comments', 'Popular Tags']
Date: 2022-08-26
“Monday, the state Department of Health Care Services announced it would continue to cover those young adults through the end of 2023 to make sure they won’t lose their benefits,” the AP reported.
“Providing continuous coverage means that tens of thousands of young Californians won’t face a disruption in care, keeping them covered and healthier as a result,” Health Access California policy and legislative advocate Jose Torres Casillas said in the report. “California is again leading the way in making our health care system work better for all communities, regardless of income, age, or immigration status.”
Beatriz Hernandez, who turned 26 this past March, is among young Californians who will be protected under the Newsom administration’s plan. “While she said she was grateful ‘for another year of life,’ she was worried about losing her health care coverage and wasn't sure what she was going to do,” NBC News reported. Like many other young undocumented immigrants, Hernandez has lived in the U.S. for a significant portion of her life.
“It means much more to us than not losing the Medi-Cal card," she continued in the report. "It's being able to obtain prescriptions for glasses, medication for any type of health problem, all these things that keep us healthy." The state is home to more than 2 million undocumented immigrants, including more than 180,000 Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals recipients. Together, they paid $2.5 billion in local and state taxes in 2018, the American Immigration Council said.
x Starting by Jan. 1, 2024, eligible adults ages 26-49 will qualify for full-scope Medi-Cal coverage, regardless of immigration status. This will help close #HealthEquity gaps. See if you qualify for Medi-Cal:
https://t.co/0AegRBGQDo pic.twitter.com/sXPtDMJgwC — Department of Health Care Services (@DHCS_CA) August 24, 2022
Expanding health care coverage is both humane and effective public health policy. “Approximately 700,000 Californians, who were among our most essential workers during the pandemic, will become eligible for health care coverage,” state Senator María Elena Durazo said in June. “Many of these Californians with no access to preventative and follow-up health care, risked their health and safety so that other Californians could shelter in place.”
“I am so proud of the Health4All campaign, all the activists and everyone who pushed hard to make this happen," Iván Barragán, coordinator of health and public policy at the California Immigrant Policy Center, told NBC News. "We need everyone to be healthy, so that we can all be well,” Hernandez continued to NBC News.
California has in recent months taken further action to protect its communities. In June, state leaders also implemented policy providing food assistance to undocumented residents 55 and older. The next month, Newsom signed into law the Free School Meals for All Act, making the state the first in the nation to implement universal free school meals. “California’s decision has already inspired Maine to follow suit, indicating a more significant shift toward greater national food equity,” Prism reported.
RELATED STORIES:
Advocates say they hope new California law protecting unaccompanied kids is duplicated nationwide
[END]
---
[1] Url:
https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2022/8/26/2118980/-Thousands-of-young-Californians-will-no-longer-be-at-risk-of-health-coverage-gap-under-new-policy
Published and (C) by Daily Kos
Content appears here under this condition or license: Site content may be used for any purpose without permission unless otherwise specified.
via Magical.Fish Gopher News Feeds:
gopher://magical.fish/1/feeds/news/dailykos/
