OAKLAND, Calif. — Medi-Cal health coverage kicked in for Antonio Abundis just when the custodian needed it most.
Shortly after Abundis transitioned from limited to full-scope coverage in 2022 under California’s expansion of Medi-Cal to older residents without legal immigration status, he was diagnosed with leukemia, a cancer affecting the blood cells. The soft-spoken father of three took the news in stride as his doctor said his blood test suggested his cancer wasn’t advanced. His next steps were to get more tests and formulate a treatment plan with a cancer team at Epic Care in Emeryville. But all of that was derailed when he showed up last July for bloodwork at La Clínica de La Raza in Oakland and was told he was no longer on Medi-Cal.
“They never sent me a letter or anything telling me that I was removed,” Abundis, now 63, said in Spanish about losing his insurance.
Abundis is among hundreds of thousands of Latinos who have been kicked off Medi-Cal, California’s Medicaid program for low-income people, as states resume annual eligibility checks that were paused at the height of the covid-19 pandemic. The redetermination process, as it is known, has disproportionately affected Latinos, who make up a majority of Medi-Cal beneficiaries. According to the California Department of Health Care …
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OAKLAND, Calif. — Medi-Cal health coverage kicked in for Antonio Abundis just when the custodian needed it most.
Shortly after Abundis transitioned from limited to full-scope coverage in 2022 under California’s expansion of Medi-Cal to older residents without legal immigration status, he was diagnosed with leukemia, a cancer affecting the blood cells. The soft-spoken father of three took the news in stride as his doctor said his blood test suggested his cancer wasn’t advanced. His next steps were to get more tests and formulate a treatment plan with a cancer team at Epic Care in Emeryville. But all of that was derailed when he showed up last July for bloodwork at La Clínica de La Raza in Oakland and was told he was no longer on Medi-Cal.
“They never sent me a letter or anything telling me that I was removed,” Abundis, now 63, said in Spanish about losing his insurance.
Abundis is among hundreds of thousands of Latinos who have been kicked off Medi-Cal, California’s Medicaid program for low-income people, as states resume annual eligibility checks that were paused at the height of the covid-19 pandemic. The redetermination process, as it is known, has disproportionately affected Latinos, who make up a majority of Medi-Cal beneficiaries. According to the California Department of Health Care …nnDiscussion:nn” ai_name=”RocketNews AI: ” start_sentence=”Can I tell you more about this article?” text_input_placeholder=”Type ‘Yes'”]