Article
Waiting For Medicaid To Kick In
Nearly 2 million Californians have gained coverage with the expansion of the Medi-Cal program for poor and disabled people, including those who transitioned from temporary programs like Healthy Way LA. But roughly 800,000 more applications are pending from people presumed to be eligible for the program.
For most of Teresa Martinez’s life, buying health insurance has been out of the question. She works at a Koreatown hair salon, earning about $10 per cut — not nearly enough to afford private coverage. With a long list of ailments including dizziness, blurry vision and leg pain, she eagerly applied last year for a county program that would cover her for free until Obamacare set in.
“I thought at long last, I would be able to go to the doctor and get what I need,” said Martinez, 62, who lives in East Los Angeles. “I was so excited. But that was short lived.”
Without any explanation, Martinez received a denial letter from the Healthy Way Los Angeles, a temporary coverage program for low-income people. Later she applied for Medicaid —known as Medi-Cal in California -- which was expanded under the Affordable Care Act to include people like Martinez without dependent children.
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Source: Kaiser Health News
