L.A. County Partners With OneLA To Enroll Residents in Medi-Cal

Los Angeles County is partnering with OneLA -- an organization of churches, synagogues and not-for-profits -- on a new program to help uninsured residents enroll in Medi-Cal in preparation for a program expansion next year, the Los Angeles Times reports (Gorman, Los Angeles Times, 3/25).

Medi-Cal is California's Medicaid program.

Background

Under the Affordable Care Act, an expansion of Medi-Cal -- California's Medicaid program -- would affect individuals with incomes up to 138% of the federal poverty level, or $15,415 annually.

The federal government will fully fund the expansion for the first few years.

Earlier this month, the state Assembly and Senate passed companion bills (SBX1-1 and ABX1-1) that would expand Medi-Cal eligibility to more than one million Californians. The bills also would simplify the Medi-Cal enrollment process (California Healthline, 3/11).

Details of the Program

The program -- managed by the county's Department of Health Services and OneLA -- offers enrollment events at locations such as churches, schools and community centers.

For the program, trained volunteers screen residents to determine their eligibility for coverage in Medi-Cal and Healthy Way LA, the county's temporary health insurance program that will run until the Medicaid expansion is implemented.

Katie Murphy -- managing attorney at Neighborhood Legal Services of Los Angeles County, which trained enrollment event volunteers -- said, "Even though the county is moving as fast as it can toward health care reform," it does not yet have adequate staff to conduct all necessary outreach initiatives. She said the program is meant to supplement the county's other efforts to enroll residents in Medi-Cal.