Monterey, CA Medi-Cal and Medicaid Needs More Continuity Across Different States

View From A Nonprofit Serving Carmel, Carmel Valley, Gonzalez, Greenfield, King City, Marina, Monterey, Pacific Grove, Pebble Beach, Salinas, Seaside And Soledad California

As Medicaid (called Medi-Cal in California) expands rapidly under the new health care reform rules, many worry about how states will cope with the huge influx of people being covered. Many states, including California, outsource their enrollees to ensure quality of care and make things more efficient.  But many in the healthcare sector believe that this is not ideal.  The latest data from the Centers For Medicare & Medicaid Services showed that California leads the nation in the number of Medicaid managed care participants (and this is prior to the expansion).  We currently have more than 4.5 mil. enrollees in these types of plans, more than 15% of our country's total.  Many believe that there needs to be more consistency on a national level.  "The quality of the monitoring and the quality of the managed care really varies from state to state," Joan Alker, a co-executive director of the Center on Children and Families at Georgetown University, told USA Today.  "These are very vulnerable populations, and sometimes, not getting the services they need is a matter of huge import." I agree.  Many of those on Medi-Cal don't realize that they have rights just as those do who are covered by private insurance.  They believe because the government is footing the bill, they have to take whatever is doled out.  This isn't true.  Medi-Cal comes at an extremely high cost and that will only increase next year.  We must make the system as efficient as possible.

http://www.usatoday.com/story/money/business/2013/07/04/more-eyes-on-medicaid-oversight/2490197/

About Richard Kuehn & Hands to Help Seniors:

After more than a decade of caregiving, both in a professional environment and for a 97 year old family member, it became clear to me that there are many seniors that can't afford to pay for a private duty caregiver, not to mention medical expenses, food and property taxes on their home.  I decided to form a non-profit to help seniors with any service they might need to get by, should they be unable to afford this themselves.  From putting on a new roof to providing a hot meal, Hands to Help Seniors is there to help.  Please visit my blog where I talk about important senior issues at:

http://www.h2hs.org/news-and-media.html

Please note that this blog reflects my personal opinion and may or may not reflect the opinion of Hands to Help Seniors and the individual members comprising the Board of Governors.