Health care in California: How the state made almost everyone eligible for coverage
By Shaanth Nanguneri and Arfa Momin,
2024-09-04
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Almost everyone in California has health insurance.
That trend reflects about a decade and a half of policymaking designed to expand access to health care . The state’s average uninsured rate has dropped from nearly one in four Californians in 2009 to less than one in ten today.
At the start of 2024, Democratic lawmakers led California to become one of only two states in the nation to offer state-funded health insurance to all low-income undocumented immigrant Californians. It was a major milestone that allowed the state to start covering its largest remaining uninsured group.
Amid the state’s historically low uninsured rates, though, some gaps remain. They include undocumented families who earn too much money to qualify for state-supported insurance.
And, health care remains expensive despite efforts to bring down the cost of care. Californians spend more money on health care than the national average.
California also has not gone as far as Gov. Gavin Newsom pledged when he ran for office in 2018. Back then, he said he supported government-funded, universal health care coverage. That has not happened, and he now touts what he calls universal access to care .
Here’s a look at how California made almost everyone eligible for health insurance and what’s happening to extend coverage to the rest.
Close to 94% of Califiornians have health care insurance, an all-time high insured rate in 2022, according to an analysis by the California Health Care Foundation . That 6% uninsured rate is a steep improvement from a peak of around 15% in 2013, according to the analysis.
Those gains can be attributed to both federal and state efforts to expand health care coverage after Congress passed the Affordable Care Act, often called Obamacare, in 2010. That boosted funding and expanded eligiblity for Medi-Cal , California's version of the federal low-income Medicaid program. Medi-Cal enrolls about 15 million people.
About 1.5 million people have insurance through Covered California, a state-supported program that offers health insurance to people who don’t qualify for it through work or Medi-Cal. The rest generally obtain coverage through their employers.
California has a record-high insured rate — but many states are doing even better.
In some ways, that’s unavoidable. Compared to other states, California has the highest proportion of immigrants with and without legal status in the United states, and has one of the highest proportions of Latinos. Those communities have historically faced barriers to access.
The state’s unemployment rate is higher than the national average too, meaning fewer residents can use employer-sponsored care and more have to turn to state-funded programs.
Conservative states such as Kentucky and Ohio have higher proportions of insured residents than California. They are among those that have expanded Medicaid in line with Affordable Care Act . One state, Wisconsin, has not adopted an expansion, but it offers tax credits for marketplace insurance to those who earn more than the poverty line, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation .
Over 2 million Californians will lack health insurance this year despite all the efforts to expand coverage, researchers at the UC Berkeley Labor Center estimate . One-fifth of them are projected to be undocumented residents. The others are people who qualify for coverage but have not signed up, cannot immediately afford it, or have chosen not to sign up.
Half a million undocumented Californians are not eligible for Medi-Cal because they earn too much money to qualify for it, according to the labor center’s analysis.
Around 40,000 of them qualify for Medi-Cal because of their legal status through the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, according to new May regulations from the Biden administration . But those whose families arrived in the United States after the program’s 2007 cutoff remain ineligible under federal law for Covered California or its subsidies.
A booth for information on Covered California at the California Native Americans Day celebration at the state Captiol on Sept. 22, 2023. Photo by Miguel Gutierrez Jr., CalMatters
Money is often a key barrier to health insurance, particularly for low-income Californians without steady jobs or employer-based coverage. Health care costs are rising significantly faster than average incomes in California, according to a January 2024 report from the UC Berkeley Labor Center.
To help those who don’t qualify for low-income insurance, policymakers have bolstered the Covered California marketplace multiple times, through both federal subsidies and state funding. Plans are available for as little as $10 a month.
But premiums for California’s middle-class have been steadily rising in recent years, and overall health care costs Californians more per person than it costs the average American, according to the California Health Care Foundation .
California expanded access to health insurance in an era of generally increasing tax revenue. That’s changing, with the Newsom administration projecting tight budgets in the years ahead.
California’s state spending for Medi-Cal has risen to about $37 billion a year, an increase of over 80% since 2018. The expansions of access to undocumented households cost about $4 billion a year, according to the Legislative Analyst’s Office. California’s budget is nearly $300 billion this 2024-25 fiscal year.
Those numbers led lawmakers to scale down more ambitious health care proposals in 2024.
Dr. Francisco Tejeda prepares for a telehealth appointment with a patient at San Ysidro Health in San Diego on Feb. 23, 2024. California has made health insurance available to almost everyone, and leaders now are working to bring down the cost of care. Photo by Adriana Heldiz, CalMatters
The Legislature also has backed away from single-payer health care , with projected costs to the state of government-funded health care exceeding $390 billion a year.
While lawmakers haven’t been able to muster support for a government-run system, they have shored up the state’s marketplace. Covered California receives funding from the state and its costs are capped by federal aid established at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. The COVID assistance is set to expire at the end of 2025.
With expansions off the table for now, state officials are attempting to hold down costs for health care consumers. The Office of Health Care Affordability, announced a new rule in April which aims to hold annual health care cost increases below 3%. Experts say it could take years for Californians to feel its effects.
Just over half of Californians reported that they skipped or put off care due to costs in the last year, according to an early 2024 poll from the California Health Care Foundation . Half of respondents said it led to their condition worsening. The numbers are even more stark for low-income, Black and Latino Californians.
Supported by the California Health Care Foundation (CHCF), which works to ensure that people have access to the care they need, when they need it, at a price they can afford. Visit www.chcf.org to learn more.
Health care is a basic human right that should be available to everyone without any cost. No one should be denied access to essential medical services due to their inability to afford it. The idea of profiting from people's health is unethical and goes against the principles of humanity. The health care system should prioritize the well-being of individuals rather than financial gain. Individuals should not have to worry about the high costs of medical treatments and medications, especially in times of illness or injury. It is the responsibility of the government and society as a whole to ensure that healthcare is accessible and affordable for all. No one should have to choose between their health and financial stability.
Kathy Babcock Downs
09-04
It's one or the other. If they end up in the ER and hospital we pay for it.
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