{"id":63903,"date":"2024-04-09T13:15:52","date_gmt":"2024-04-09T20:15:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lapost.us\/?p=63903"},"modified":"2024-04-09T13:15:52","modified_gmt":"2024-04-09T20:15:52","slug":"health-coverage-for-youngest-kids-california-brings-danger-to-a-head","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lapost.us\/?p=63903","title":{"rendered":"Health Coverage for Youngest Kids: California Brings Danger to a Head"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"td_block_wrap tdb_single_author tdi_59 td-pb-border-top td_block_template_1 tdb-post-meta\" data-td-block-uid=\"tdi_59\">\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div class=\"tdb-author-name-wrap\"><span class=\"tdb-author-by\">By<\/span><a class=\"tdb-author-name\" href=\"https:\/\/ethnicmediaservices.org\/author\/selen-ozturk\/\">Selen Ozturk<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"td_block_wrap tdb_single_date tdi_60 td-pb-border-top td_block_template_1 tdb-post-meta\" data-td-block-uid=\"tdi_60\">\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><i class=\"tdb-date-icon tdc-font-fa tdc-font-fa-calendar\"><\/i><time class=\"entry-date updated td-module-date\" datetime=\"2024-04-09T12:08:51-07:00\">Apr 9, 2024<\/time><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"td_block_wrap tdb_single_subtitle tdi_61 td-pb-border-top td_block_template_1\" data-td-block-uid=\"tdi_61\">\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<p>What happens when our most vulnerable generation \u2014 children between birth and age five \u2014 don\u2019t have access to health care?<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"td_block_wrap tdb_single_featured_image tdi_62 tdb-content-horiz-left td-pb-border-top td_block_template_1\" data-td-block-uid=\"tdi_62\">\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"entry-thumb\" title=\"children\" src=\"https:\/\/ethnicmediaservices.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/Screen-Shot-2024-04-09-at-12.07.02-PM-e1712689667685.png\" alt=\"children\" width=\"1200\" height=\"649\" \/><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"td_block_wrap tdb_single_content tdi_63 td-pb-border-top td_block_template_1 td-post-content tagdiv-type\" data-td-block-uid=\"tdi_63\">\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<p>What happens when our most vulnerable generation \u2014 children between birth and age five \u2014 don\u2019t have access to health care?<\/p>\n<p>While the problem of coverage gaps has come to a head in California as the state faces a major budget crisis, it reflects a danger nationwide.<\/p>\n<p>At a Friday, April 5 Ethnic Media Services briefing, a state Assemblymember and children\u2019s health care experts discussed the threat to continuous coverage of Medi-Cal, the state\u2019s version of Medicaid, for children ages zero to five; the national impact of reinstating annual Medicaid eligibility reviews; and the potential impact of coverage gaps for children\u2019s health.<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">A nationwide view<\/h2>\n<p>Half of U.S. children get health coverage through Medicaid and the Children\u2019s Health Insurance Program (CHIP), a similar state-administered program that provides health insurance for children whose household income is too high for Medicaid but too low for marketplace coverage.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cFederal researchers estimate that three out of four children who would lose their Medicaid during redetermination would still be eligible \u2014 this is much higher than for adults, because children have higher income eligibility, and likely don\u2019t have another coverage source,\u201d explained Joan Alker, executive director of Georgetown Center for Children and Families.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe are about to hit 5 million fewer children on Medicaid nationwide. In 2023, we had 4 million total uninsured children nationwide. Even if half of these children are becoming uninsured for procedural reasons, this is a national crisis,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<div class=\"youtube-embed\" data-video_id=\"eqcq0xTjepQ\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" id=\"widget2\" title=\"\u201cA National Crisis\u201d - Millions of Children at Risk of Losing Health Coverage\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/eqcq0xTjepQ?feature=oembed&amp;enablejsapi=1\" width=\"100%\" height=\"392\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\" data-mce-fragment=\"1\"><\/iframe><\/div>\n<\/div><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\"><em>Joan Alker, Executive Director, Georgetown Center for Children and Families, discusses rate of unenrollment from Medicare around the U.S., noting that some states are more aggressively purging people, including children, from their Medicare programs.<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>The two states with the most children losing coverage are Texas, with 1.3 million fewer children on Medicaid since redetermination \u2014 comprising nearly one in four of the children losing coverage nationwide \u2014 and Florida, with nearly half a million fewer children on Medicaid.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe good news is that we\u2019re seeing a national breakthrough in policies that allow continuous coverage,\u201d said Allker. \u201cOregon, Washington and New Mexico are now implementing a\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.medicaid.gov\/medicaid\/section-1115-demonstrations\/index.html\">Section 1115<\/a>\u00a0waiver from the federal government to cover children from birth to age six. Eight other states, and the District of Columbia, are also pursuing this.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIn this year\u2019s budget and his State of the Union speech, President Biden proposed to Congress that states be offered an option to cover infants from birth through age six\u201d as well as an option to allow three years of continuous coverage after that through age nine, she continued.<\/p>\n<p>Currently, continuous coverage like this is only possible if states undergo the complicated process of applying for a Section 1115 waiver.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cCalifornia was earlier to pass continuous coverage, but hasn\u2019t implemented it. These states are catching up,\u201d Alker added. \u201cLet\u2019s not fall behind. Children and families shouldn\u2019t have to worry about losing health care.\u201d<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Keeping Medi-Cal<\/h2>\n<p>Against a deficit estimated at $73 billion, continuous coverage for children is at risk of being cut, said California Assemblymember Tasha Boerner (D-77): \u201cI\u2019ve been fortunate to be elected to the Assembly since 2018, and we\u2019ve had ever larger budgets, and this is the first time many of us have had to cut it.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>While in 2022 the Legislature approved multi-year continuous Medi-Cal, the state\u2019s version of Medicaid, for children ages zero to five, it has yet to greenlight the funding.<\/p>\n<p>The Legislature has until June 15 to pass the state budget, while the greenlight may not be determined until August.<\/p>\n<p>Meanwhile, a nationwide annual redetermination of Medi-Cal eligibility, temporarily suspended during the COVID-19 federal emergency, resumed in April 2023. Since then, hundreds of thousands of Californians are being disenrolled. A third of these are youth.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<div class=\"youtube-embed\" data-video_id=\"4OVk0BfMYAs\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" id=\"widget4\" title=\"Despite Eligibility for Medi-Cal, Hundreds of Thousands Are Losing Coverage at an \u201cAlarming Rate\u201d\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/4OVk0BfMYAs?feature=oembed&amp;enablejsapi=1\" width=\"100%\" height=\"392\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\" data-mce-fragment=\"1\"><\/iframe><\/div>\n<\/div><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\"><em>Assemblymember Tasha Boerner, 77th California Assembly District, shares statistics on the number of Californians, including children, who are losing their healthcare and notes that often they are unenrolled due to clerical error and not because they are no longer eligible.<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>92% of these disenrollments are due to procedural or paperwork reasons as of November 2023, compared to a nationwide average for procedural disenrollment of 71%.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOftentimes, families that still qualify for coverage but lose it due to procedural reasons \u2014 like missed renewal notices due to old contact information, inadequate language assistance, difficulty gathering all required documentation, and timely renewal applications not marked as received due to staffing shortages \u2014 find out about their lack of coverage while having a medical emergency, or going in for basic necessary services. This is unacceptable,\u201d said Boerner.<\/p>\n<p>Out of 40 million Californians, 40%, or over 15 million, relied on Medi-Cal when redetermination began.<\/p>\n<p>Nationwide, over 90 million Americans \u2014 over one in four \u2014 were on Medicaid.<\/p>\n<p>Boerner said she was pushing the Department of Finance to certify multi-year continuous Medi-Cal enrollment for children aged zero to five.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhen we cut the red tape, people get the preventative care they need, and they\u2019re not just ending up in the ER, with sick children that may have lasting, costly impacts from those illnesses,\u201d she explained.<\/p>\n<p>Those who lose Medi-Cal for procedural reasons have 90-day retroactive coverage, i.e. can have medical bills paid for if issued within the 90 days before their coverage starts again.<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">The impact of losing coverage<\/h2>\n<p>5.2 million Californian children \u2014 over half of the state\u2019s 9 million children \u2014 had Medi-Cal or CHIP as of October 2023, and three-fourths of these were children of color.<\/p>\n<p>Since redetermination began, over a million Californians of all ages have lost coverage, including 284,000 children.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBabies see a doctor up to seven times in the first year of life alone. Health during those first few years of life, when 90% of brain development occurs, requires frequent and timely visits and screenings, and even short gaps in health coverage \u2014 known as \u2018churning\u2019 \u2014 can disrupt that care,\u201d said Mayra Alvarez, president of The Children\u2019s Partnership.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<div class=\"youtube-embed\" data-video_id=\"kYYbnyFSrnc\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" id=\"widget6\" title=\"Uninterrupted Health Coverage Ensures Children Receive Crucial Developmental Screenings\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/kYYbnyFSrnc?feature=oembed&amp;enablejsapi=1\" width=\"100%\" height=\"392\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\" data-mce-fragment=\"1\"><\/iframe><\/div>\n<\/div><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\"><em>Mayra E. Alvarez, President, The Children\u2019s Partnership, discusses the impact gaps in healthcare coverage have on the development and well-being of children.<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>During the pandemic, when redetermination froze, churn rates for California children dropped from 7.5% to 1%.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe numbers don\u2019t capture the true impact of lost coverage. Last year, we held focus groups statewide where we heard directly from parents. One Spanish-speaking parent in Fresno described their confusion and shock when they took their sick daughter to the doctor and were told they weren\u2019t covered,\u201d she continued. \u201cOther families said their children didn\u2019t have any coverage for months, and all visits had to stop. No child should be without that coverage.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWithout greenlighting continuous coverage, the commitments our state has made to deliver on the promise of healthy early development for all children are broken promises,\u201d Alvarez added.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAs a practicing community pediatrician, I\u2019ve seen what happens when we cut down the opportunity in that zero-to-five age gap, with the brain developing, to help those children grow to be the healthiest they can,\u201d said Dr. Ilan Shapiro, chief health correspondent and medical affairs officer at AltaMed, a community clinic network which serves about 500,000 patients, including 120,000 children.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<div class=\"youtube-embed\" data-video_id=\"8rGfSUvAzyc\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" id=\"widget8\" title=\"Lack of Healthcare in Childhood Leads to Developmental Delays, Rise in Infectious Diseases\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/8rGfSUvAzyc?feature=oembed&amp;enablejsapi=1\" width=\"100%\" height=\"392\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\" data-mce-fragment=\"1\"><\/iframe><\/div>\n<\/div><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\"><em>Dr. Ilan Shapiro, Chief Health Correspondent and Medical Affairs Officer, AltaMed, discusses the consequences of poor and inconsistent healthcare in young children.<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>\u201cMany children I see come with chronic problems that create a wave through the entire community. If they have asthma and low oxygen, or developmental delays, the parents need to take care of them, the kid misses out on school and social development,\u201d he continued. \u201cIf we don\u2019t give proper vaccine protection, we see what\u2019s happening now \u2014 problems with infectious diseases we have not seen in decades, like measles.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIf we continue opening that coverage gap, we can\u2019t be there for them,\u201d Shapiro said. \u201cIf we want to have a healthy California and a healthy country, it\u2019s in our hands to protect the base and future of our community by ensuring continuous coverage. These are our children.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>BySelen Ozturk Apr 9, 2024 What&#46;&#46;&#46;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[16,7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-63903","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-health","category-u-s-a"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lapost.us\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/63903","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lapost.us\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lapost.us\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lapost.us\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lapost.us\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=63903"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/lapost.us\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/63903\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":63904,"href":"https:\/\/lapost.us\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/63903\/revisions\/63904"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lapost.us\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=63903"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lapost.us\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=63903"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lapost.us\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=63903"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}