A lauded academy for foster teens in San Diego County is only about 60 percent full, and officials say that’s a good thing, because it suggests shifts in local policy meant to keep kids out of the system may be working.
Month: June 2017
If Washington, D.C. legislators approve cuts to government health care, California’s rural counties are among those who will suffer most, according to a new report.
Older Californians could face increasing financial hardship and difficulty finding health care if Republican-led efforts to overhaul the nation’s health care system move forward, state officials and advocates agreed. The American Health Care Act (AHCA) would drastically cut federal funds used by states to provide health services to poor and disabled seniors. The budget slashes funding to Medicaid, the federal insurance program for low-income people, known in California as Medi-Cal.
A San Diego program seeks out formerly incarcerated individuals after they are released to connect them with health care, paid for under the ACA with their Medi-Cal card. Generally, health care seems to provide a crucial link to a better life after incarceration. Former inmates participating in the program are more likely to do well in their communities and avoid the cycle of re-arrests.
The state’s new tobacco tax is expected generate about $1.2 billion next fiscal year for the state’s low-income health program. Immigrant rights’ advocates are asking the state to use a portion of the Proposition 56 funding to expand health coverage to undocumented young adults.
Adults are now allowed to possess and use up to an ounce of marijuana in California. But a remaining barrier to elders’ ability to use medical marijuana could be their living situation, particularly if they live in facilities, such as nursing homes that receive federal funding, as all marijuana use is illegal under federal law.
Low-income older Californians often must choose between going into debt or having all their teeth pulled so that Denti-Cal will cover the cost of their dentures. The state health program doesn’t cover partial dentures. Whether benefits are improved will depend on whether the governor and legislature come to an agreement to do so before the budget is signed in mid-June.