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Imagine being the parent of a 20-month-old and learning through developmental testing that your toddler may have an autism spectrum disorder. Your pediatrician will recommend a complete diagnostic evaluation and early intervention services. However, shortly after that review, I discovered that my child was excluded from coverage. We will try to re-register as soon as possible, but the process will take her 6 months. During that time, your child will not receive the follow-up care they need, the care that is essential to their development.
As a mother of a two-year-old, I, like many parents and caregivers, know how important it is to pay attention to your child’s health, especially in early childhood. It would be horrifying and heartbreaking for her to know that her child had a disease that required her attention and I didn’t have the means to help her.
Many parents in California are now in this situation because the federal protections that kept Medi-Cal members covered during the coronavirus pandemic have ended. Policymakers understand that during a pandemic, they cannot risk disrupting the very guarantees that allow children to receive the testing, support, and care they need to grow up healthy. I did. During the first four months without this coverage, California removed more than 150,000 of her children from Medi-Cal coverage. What’s especially frustrating is that nearly all of the people who lost their insurance did so unnecessarily. 91% of all Medi-Cal disenrollments are for “procedural” reasons, such as renewal forms not being submitted or long phone wait times that leave questions unanswered. Or, Medi-Cal hasn’t received the required documentation. Three-quarters of her children who are no longer covered will still be covered.
The California Department of Health Services conducted a massive outreach campaign to educate families on how to renew their insurance and adopted federal flexibilities to make the process easier and more streamlined.
Anticipating the end of insurance coverage protections during the pandemic, advocates like me are calling for California to adopt a continued Medi-Cal coverage policy for children ages 0 to 5, We have successfully advocated for avoiding annual updates during vulnerable periods of development. To make this critical protection a reality as soon as possible, the Governor must immediately fund and approve this policy in his January 2024 budget proposal.
Losing insurance coverage, even temporarily, delays medical care and compromises healthy childhood development. The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends 14 well-child visits in the first five years of a child’s life for preventive care, immunizations, and tracking of developmental milestones that can identify conditions such as autism. When coverage is interrupted, it becomes difficult to achieve healthy development.
Continuing coverage policies remove Medi-Cal enrollment barriers and promote health equity. Longstanding structurally racist policies and practices have created an environment in which families of color experience significant instability in employment, income, and housing, which in turn leads to instability in health care coverage. I did. By removing barriers to enrolling in Medi-Cal, continuous coverage policies provide stability to millions of families of color who are disproportionately dependent on Medi-Cal. Currently, her 70% of Medi-Cal children are children of color.
Delaying implementation of California’s continuing coverage policy for young children would be a huge missed opportunity. But it doesn’t have to be this way. Oregon is a model for California as the first state to offer multi-year continuation coverage to children shortly after federal continuation protection ended. Seven other states, including California, are developing this continuing coverage protection. Let California continue to lead the nation in advancing health equity.
Our commitment to building a “California for All” is paralleled by our bold commitment to the health of our youngest child. We will fund continued Medi-Cal coverage for young children to ensure that all California children do not lack access to health care during their critical early childhood development years. We request the governor to provide and grant permission. It is time for governments to take action and prioritize the welfare of children by funding this vital protection. Together, let’s remove barriers to health care and health equity and protect the health and future of California’s children. Government leaders have signaled they want to target children and now have a roadmap to realize that vision.
Photo: Suriyapong Thonsawang, Getty Images
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