4/11/2023 0 Comments Miles from nowhere dateline![]() ![]() And she hasn’t been to a podiatrist in two years, even though her toes are twisted over one another and hang down, causing her to trip. ![]() She isn’t seeing a neurologist, despite a series of mini-strokes and stress-related seizures. Lammers’ dermatologist and eye doctor are over an hour away from San Andreas, the county seat of Calaveras County, about 125 miles northeast of San Francisco. The problem is particularly acute for patients who need to see specialists. But Lammers, who lives in a motel with her boyfriend and teenage daughter in the Gold Rush town of San Andreas, doesn’t have a working car and can’t readily get to the clinic - which is 50 miles away.įor Lammers, like many Medi-Cal enrollees who live in rural areas, lack of transportation is a major impediment to obtaining care. Her gastroenterologist wants to perform diagnostic procedures, including a colonoscopy and, if anything shows up, a biopsy. Lammers, 53, has been suffering from frequent bouts of nausea, pain, and bloating for six months. When Stephanie Lammers leans over to put on her shoes, it feels as if she’s squishing something inside her abdomen, she said. Here are snapshots of patients who have used the program at a critical time in their life. Have you had difficulty seeing the right doctor for what ails you, even to the point of putting your life at risk? Or did Medi-Cal provide good care, perhaps sparing you serious harm or disability? Either way, please consider sharing your experience with us. If you are in Medi-Cal, we would like to hear from you, whether you live in a big city or a rural region, regardless of your age, race, or ethnicity, and whatever your medical, dental, or mental health condition. That means the program is working for some, but failing for many others. In reality, the type of care you get in Medi-Cal depends on where you live and which insurer provides your benefits. It makes a significant mark on health care and health policy, not just because of the size and breadth of its program, but by being very comprehensive.”īut only a sliver of enrollees will get the new social services, even as many patients struggle to obtain basic care or get in to see their doctors. “What the state is doing is ambitious and very aggressive. ![]() “People are watching California,” said Cindy Mann, who served as federal Medicaid director under former President Barack Obama. The state is also adding innovative social services that fall outside the traditional realm of medicine, including helping some enrollees pay for rent and buy groceries. State officials are demanding that the 23 health insurers that serve most Medi-Cal patients provide better care - or face significant penalties, including potential expulsion from the program. Medi-Cal is also undertaking several new initiatives that aim to save taxpayer money and improve quality. Medi-Cal is at a critical juncture as it attempts to serve the needs of a diverse patient population with a dizzying array of medical needs - from childhood vaccinations and cancer screenings to state-of-the-art care for rare genetic disorders. Roughly half of enrollees are Hispanic, and, next year, California will become the first state to expand eligibility to all immigrants who qualify, regardless of their legal status. They include Stephanie Lammers, who can’t get her troubling abdominal symptoms checked at a clinic 50 miles from her small Calaveras County town because the transportation Medi-Cal is supposed to provide isn’t trustworthy Carolina Morga Tapia, a Fresno woman who credits Medi-Cal with helping her have five healthy children and Lucas Moreno Ramirez, a Los Angeles County man with stage 4 lung cancer who had to fight to keep his treatment going. In a new series, California Healthline will shed light on Medi-Cal’s successes and failures through the experiences of its enrollees. “If it weren’t for Medi-Cal, so many people would either be dead or would be severely compromised.” “It’s critical, from the single pregnant mom, to the extremely frail elderly population that needs a nursing home,” said Jennifer Kent, former director of the state Department of Health Care Services, which administers Medi-Cal. ![]() The way the program works - or doesn’t - could spell life or death for many enrollees. Single dads.Ĭalifornia’s Medicaid program, called Medi-Cal, serves a whopping 15.4 million people, offering care from cradle to grave: Half of all births are covered by Medi-Cal, as are more than half of all stays in nursing homes.Įverything about Medi-Cal is massive, from its upcoming fiscal year budget of $139 billion to the expansive list of benefits and services it offers. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |