Though the Senate Republicans’ revised health bill includes additional funding compared to the previous version, health advocates say it would still have a devastating effect on low-income Californians.
Author: Lisa Renner
Minorities would be particularly affected. According to the Medi-Cal Monthly Enrollment Fast Facts report in January, 48 percent of Medi-Cal recipients are Hispanic, 13 percent are Asian/Pacific Islander and 8 percent are African-American. Twenty percent are white and 12 percent didn’t report a race.
Aid and Assistance, a benefit for low-income veterans and their survivors, is underused, according to veteran service officers. Though there are 21 million vets nationwide, only 116,000 veterans and 126,500 survivors participate in Aid and Assistance.
People who live in rural areas suffer from higher than average rates of depression, an illness that can have a devastating effect on older adults. Yet California’s rural areas suffer from a shortage of mental health professionals, leaving seniors with few options for treatment.
The amount of state funding given to a child with developmental disabilities varies wildly depending on where the child lives, according to a new report by Public Counsel, the nation’s largest pro bono law firm. Regions with higher black and Latino populations receive lower funding than those with higher white and Asian populations, the report said.
As Republicans work to dismantle the national Affordable Care Act, a bill to create universal health care coverage in California continues to wind its way through the legislature.
Only 9 percent of eligible infants and toddlers have state-subsidized child care. California’s day cares have the capacity to only take 25 percent of the state’s children who are 2 and younger. The number of spots available drops even lower when you take into account day cares that are willing to accept subsidies.
Five million of California’s poorest and most vulnerable residents could lose their health coverage if the American Health Care Act becomes law, health advocates say.
Homeless or disabled college students in eight California counties will soon be able to use their CalFresh electronic benefits transfer cards to buy food at campus food services.
Gov. Jerry Brown recently signed into law SB 877, which requires the state Public Health department to collect information on the circumstances surrounding any death caused by physical force or power against someone, including homicides and suicides.