Tens of thousands of Californians are losing health insurance every month as the state resumes checking people’s eligibility for Medi-Cal, which it suspended during the COVID-19 public health emergency.
About 16 million people in California will be evaluated for eligibility from June 2023 to May 2024. About half of those up for a review were automatically renewed because officials were able to verify their information in the system. Others were sent yellow renewal packets that they were supposed to fill out and send back to their county Medi-Cal office.
More than 300,000 Californians have lost their Medi-Cal eligibility since July 1. The majority of lost coverage in June and July due to procedural reasons, such as not sending their renewal forms back or having incorrect information in their forms, according to state data.
Some people losing coverage are no longer eligible because of changes in their personal lives, such as starting a job with higher pay. But some might see their coverage lapse because of paperwork mistakes or simply missing a notice in the mail.
“It’s because it’s been such a long period where folks have not had to renew their health coverage,” said Cary Sanders, senior policy director at the California Pan-Ethnic Health Network. “There could be up to 2 to 3 million Californians who could lose their health coverage just by virtue of this change, because there would be people who wouldn’t know what to do.”
Here are some answers to questions about what you can do if you lose coverage, including how to appeal.
How do I know if I got disenrolled from Medi-Cal?
You will get notified through mail. If you didn’t…
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