Report: ACA Has Benefitted More Than One Million Californians
More than one million California residents have benefitted from provisions in the Affordable Care Act, according to a report released Thursday by the not-for-profit Health Access, KQED's "State of Health" reports (Kim, "State of Health," KQED, 3/21).
Report Findings
Health Access -- which supports the ACA -- found that state residents who have benefitted from the law's provisions include:
- More than 500,000 low-income adults who have obtained health care services through new programs;
- More than 21,000 individuals with pre-existing conditions who previously were denied health insurance; and
- More than 435,000 young adults who are able to remain on their parents' health plan until age 26.
Comments
Anthony Wright -- director of Health Access -- encouraged the state Legislature and Gov. Jerry Brown (D) to approve a plan to expand Medi-Cal, California's Medicaid program, under the ACA.
He said, "We're proud of what California has done," adding, "But there's a lot more work to do."
However, state Assembly member Dan Logue (R-Marysville) said that implementing the rest of the ACA's provisions is "going to be a disaster."
He said that state residents likely will see costs increase and availability of treatments decrease as the ACA expands health insurance coverage to more individuals without increasing the number of physicians. Logue said, "You're going to have a massive rationing of health care," adding, "Everyone is going to have health insurance, but no one is going to have health care" (Sanders, "Capitol Alert," Sacramento Bee, 3/21). This is part of the California Healthline Daily Edition, a summary of health policy coverage from major news organizations. Sign up for an email subscription.