{"id":61763,"date":"2023-12-19T15:56:33","date_gmt":"2023-12-19T23:56:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lapost.us\/?p=61763"},"modified":"2023-12-19T15:56:33","modified_gmt":"2023-12-19T23:56:33","slug":"paving-the-way-for-medi-cal-expansion-in-bakersfield","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lapost.us\/?p=61763","title":{"rendered":"Paving the Way for Medi-Cal Expansion in Bakersfield"},"content":{"rendered":"
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By<\/span>Mark Hedin<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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As Medi-Cal expands to include all undocumented Californians in 2024, vulnerable populations shared their experience of seeking coverage at a Bakersfield briefing.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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\"Juan
Juan Avila, COO of Garden Pathways, with Reyna Olaguez, from the organization Building Healthy Communities Kern, pointing out the importance of making information about Medi-Cal expansion known, since many vulnerable individuals do not trust sharing their information to obtain coverage. (Credit: Manuel Ortiz Escamez)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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For Juan Avila, COO of Garden Pathways, health care was not a priority until one man, fresh out of prison, failed to find work because of a previously undetected illness.<\/p>\n

\u201cUltimately, the entire community benefits from the expansion,\u201d said Avila, recalling how nearly eight years earlier, in 2016, this client had been on the cusp of a well-paying job until going in for a physical exam, where the doctor discovered an ailment that ultimately disqualified him.<\/p>\n

With proper health care the illness could have been detected and treated much earlier, Avila recalls the doctor saying. That\u2019s when he realized what a game changer health care access can be for those struggling on the margins, including the formerly incarcerated.<\/p>\n

\u201cSometimes, for the justice-involved, medical care is the last thing on their minds,\u201d he said. \u201cBut that regular care helps them live their best lives.\u201d<\/p>\n

Today, with California set to expand Medi-Cal access to millions, Garden Pathways is among the community organizations in Bakersfield working to ensure residents get the care they need.<\/p>\n

Avila was among a panel of speakers from these organizations at a recent media briefing at Garden Pathway\u2019s offices in Bakersfield organized by Ethnic Media Services in conjunction with the California Department of Health Care Services. The event was aimed at helping get the word out about California\u2019s pending Medi-Cal expansion.<\/p>\n

Medi-Cal, the state\u2019s federally funded health insurance program, already covers people who are older than 65 or younger than 21. Come January 1, however, those aged 26 to 49 will become eligible regardless of immigration status.<\/p>\n

Eligibility will be based on income, with the upper limit for an individual set at $21,680 per year, with approximately another $7,100 for every additional member of the household.<\/p>\n

Depending on how many newly eligible people apply for the benefit, the numbers of Californians covered by Medi-Cal is expected to expand by another 500,000 to 700,000 people from the almost 16 million\u00a0covered this year.<\/p>\n

\"Erica<\/a>
For Erica Morrison, a mother of two in Bakersfield, California, Medi-Cal has helped her meet the medical needs of her children, one of whom has special needs requiring specialized care that would be impossible to cover by paying for it herself. (Credit: Manuel Ortiz Escamez)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Avila explained that for people behind bars, \u201cthey\u2019re able to see doctors, get medicines, stabilize their health. But then they\u2019re released with a seven-day supply of medicine and they\u2019re on their own.\u201d<\/p>\n

That\u2019s why Garden Pathways is working with DHCS to ensure that those about to be released can access health care under the state\u2019s newly expanded eligibility requirements.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve been able to expedite Medi-Cal enrollment,\u201d added Avila, \u201cmaking sure that once they\u2019re released, they\u2019re able to see doctors and get those services that they need.\u201d<\/p>\n

That was the case for Christopher Mendoza, 18, who said thanks to a Garden Pathways mentor he was able to get enrolled under Medi-Cal and get his prescription glasses.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s been a whole different world. Life-changing. I\u2019ve been able to see, I\u2019ve been more productive,\u201d said Mendoza. \u201cI have a household of around six, four of them children. Without Medi-Cal, they couldn\u2019t get dental \u2026 it took me more than a month to find out, trying to set up appointments, but my mentor guided me, helped me \u2026 and it happened.\u201d<\/p>\n

Erica Morrison, 39, is one of those mentors. She spent \u201ca long time\u201d behind bars before first becoming a Garden Pathways client and later a mentor. \u201cIt\u2019s like they just throw you out into the wild and say, \u2018go on your way,\u201d she said, echoing Avila. \u201cWith Medi-Cal, you can continue with coverage and continue with treatment for any medical needs you have.\u201d<\/p>\n

A new mother, Morrison said technology changed so dramatically while she was incarcerated that she didn\u2019t have the computer know-how to apply online for her or her other children\u2019s medical needs once released. \u201cI have a son who has special needs,\u201d she said, adding that without coverage she could not afford his medications and treatments. \u201cWithout Medi-Cal, he wouldn\u2019t survive.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Daniel<\/a>
Daniel Lopez of Garden Pathways and Bill Wise of the Kern County Department of Human Services, making an urgent appeal to those who have not renewed Medi-Cal in the last three years, as they could lose their coverage. (Credit: Manuel Ortiz Escamez)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Bill Wise, of the Kern County Department of Human Services, described some of the outreach work his office is doing to get people enrolled, including allowing inmates to get assistance in starting the health care application process while still incarcerated so that completing their sentence no longer comes with the cost of losing health care.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen we go into the incarceration centers, jails, they give contact info, but once they\u2019re released, it\u2019s very hard to do the follow-up,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Dee Slade, executive director with the African American Network of Kern County, welcomed the resources that new Medi-Cal enrollees could expect. \u201cI\u2019m excited because we\u2019re including mental health, which is high on the agenda right now, but they\u2019ll also get prenatal care.\u201d<\/p>\n

Black women suffer from some of the highest maternal mortality rates in the country.<\/p>\n

Slade and Trista Carter, vice president of African-American Network of Kern County, agreed that Medi-Cal has become one of the most important programs for the African-American community, not only for those born in the United States, but also for immigrants, \u201cthe other Black culture.\u201d<\/p>\n

We have people who are African American, immigrants of Black descent, people of African descent or other Caribbean people, and they also come here looking for support and contribute to society to reintegrate into society,\u201d Slade said.<\/p>\n

Bakersfield, in the heart of California\u2019s agricultural and oil-producing Kern County, is also home to a large migrant farm working community, more than half of which is undocumented.<\/p>\n

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