blog post California’s Medi-Cal Expansion Is Lowering Poverty among Undocumented Immigrants By Patricia Malagon Apr 18, 2024 At the beginning of this year, California broadened Medi-Cal eligibility to include all undocumented immigrants regardless of age. We examine how the state-funded expansion of coverage could reduce poverty among non-citizens and their families.
blog post How Does Access to Care Affect Health? By Shannon McConville Mar 24, 2014 How will the expansion of Medi-Cal under the Affordable Care Act impact the medical care and health of those who gain coverage?
Fact Sheet California’s Health Care Safety Net By Shannon McConville, Shalini Mustala Sep 25, 2024 Millions of low-income Californians rely on Medi-Cal for health care coverage, while other programs cover services for those not eligible or with certain health conditions. County hospitals, primary care clinics, and emergency departments are critical providers but face concerns about financial stability.
blog post Mounting Concerns about Safety Net Hospital Closures By Shannon McConville Jun 12, 2023 Safety net hospitals were hit hard by the pandemic, and in its wake some are struggling financially despite a large influx of federal COVID relief funds.
blog post Counties Are Key Partners in the Medi-Cal Program By Shannon McConville Feb 8, 2024 County governments play an important role in administering Medi-Cal and organizing and delivering health services. We look at how counties' Medi-Cal responsibilities—as well as the resources available to carry them out—have shifted over the past decade, a period that has seen the state significantly expand program eligibility.
blog post More than a Million California Children Rely on CHIP By Shannon McConville Dec 8, 2017 Some 1.3 million Californians age 18 and under—about 13% of the state’s children—rely on the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) for their health coverage.
Report Expanding Health Coverage in California: County Jails as Enrollment Sites By Shannon McConville, Mia Bird May 10, 2016 In 2014, the first year of Affordable Care Act (ACA) implementation, the number of Californians with health insurance increased substantially. However, millions of state residents continue to lack comprehensive health coverage, and those who remain uninsured are likely more difficult to enroll through traditional strategies. In this report, we find that uninsured rates are highest for young men and for those with low levels of education, income, and employment. The prevalence of these same characteristics among correctional populations suggests that the justice system—and, in particular, county jails—may offer points of contact for many uninsured individuals who would otherwise be hard to reach. Outreach and enrollment efforts aimed at local jail populations are set within the policy context of California’s 2011 Public Safety Realignment, which created incentives and resources for local corrections agencies to improve reentry outcomes. With expansions in access to health insurance coverage under the ACA, nearly all counties are establishing programs to provide enrollment assistance to jail inmates as part of a more comprehensive reentry strategy. But resources and capacity are limited, so it is important to identify effective models to maximize the potential of county correctional systems as sites of insurance enrollment.
press release Health Care For Medi-Cal Population Less Costly Than Care For Privately Insured, Study Finds Dec 7, 2000
Report Funding the Medi-Cal Program By Caroline Danielson, Shannon McConville, Paul Warren Mar 30, 2017 Medi-Cal—a key source of health insurance in California—faced fiscal challenges even before the November 2016 election threw federal health care policy into question. State policymakers looking at funding options need to consider both the larger budgetary context and the fiscal soundness of potential revenue sources. This research was supported with funding from the California Health Care Foundation.
