Health coverage a right
Having health coverage is important as it is illegal to file taxes in California without it. Health coverage is of the utmost importance when you are responsible for little ones, as they need it as they progress through life and figure out what they’re physically capable of versus what is dangerous. Medicaid experts did a survey and found that during the redetermination period, of which Medicaid does every year, three out of four children have zero health coverage.
“Federal researchers estimate that three out of four children who would lose their Medicaid during redetermination would still be eligible — this is much higher than for adults, because children have higher income eligibility, and likely don’t have another coverage source,” explained Joan Alker, executive director of Georgetown Center for Children and Families.
“We are about to hit 5 million fewer children on Medicaid nationwide. In 2023, we had 4 million total uninsured children nationwide. Even if half of these children are becoming uninsured for procedural reasons, this is a national crisis,” she said.
This isn’t only a California issue as Texas has 1.3 million fewer children on Medicaid since redetermination — comprising nearly one in four of children losing coverage nationwide — and Florida, with half a million fewer children on Medicaid.
In this year’s budget and his State of the Union speech, President Joe Biden proposed to Congress that states offer an option to cover infants from birth through age six as well as an option to allow three years of continuous coverage after that through age nine. Currently, continuous coverage like this is only possible if states undergo the complicated process of applying for a Section 1115 waiver.
Section 1115 of the Social Security Act gives the Secretary of Health and Human Services authority to approve experimental, pilot, or demonstration projects that promote the objectives of the Medicaid and Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) programs. Under this authority, the Secretary may waive certain provisions of the Medicaid law to give states additional flexibility to design and improve their programs.
“California was earlier to pass continuous coverage but hasn’t implemented it. These states are catching up,” Alker added. “Let’s not fall behind. Children and families shouldn’t have to worry about losing health care.”
5.2 million Californian children — over half of the state’s children — had Medi-Cal or CHIP as of October 2023, and three-fourths of these were children of color.
Since redetermination began, over a million Californians of all ages have lost coverage, including 284,000 children.
“Babies see a doctor up to seven times in the first year of life alone. Health during those first few years of life, when 90% of brain development occurs, requires frequent and timely visits and screenings, and even short gaps in health coverage — known as ‘churning’ — can disrupt that care,” said Mayra Alvarez, president of The Children’s Partnership.
During the pandemic, when redetermination froze, churn rates for California children dropped from 7.5% to 1%.
“The numbers don’t capture the true impact of lost coverage. Last year, we held focus groups statewide, where we heard directly from parents. One Spanish-speaking parent in Fresno described their confusion and shock when they took their sick daughter to the doctor and were told they weren’t covered,” she continued. “Other families said their children didn’t have any coverage for months, and all visits had to stop. No child should be without that coverage.”
“Without greenlighting continuous coverage, the commitments our state has made to deliver on the promise of healthy early development for all children are broken promises,” Alvarez added.
