Medi-Cal will celebrate its 50th anniversary on Nov. 11 as the largest health care provider in California. The program provides coverage to 13 million Californians.
The implementation of the Affordable Care Act has led to an increase of recipients by 4 percent yearly, since 2010.
A Short Timeline
When Medi-Cal was first implemented in March 1966, only about 6 percent of Californians were covered. At the time, this was a cheap alternative to the many private health insurers.They had been providing a high quality of coverage that came with high prices. The estimated number of enrollees was about 1 million people, according to the Department of Health Care Services.
Despite it being cheaper than other health insurers, the quality of care was standard and covered the treatment or prevention of diseases, disability, infirmity and impairment, says Anthony Cava, a spokesman at the Department of Health Care Services.
“These services were considered comprehensive and provided care in the major disciplines of health care,” Cava said.
Amid many policy changes throughout the years by many different governors and presidents, by 1976 the estimated number of Medi-Cal recipients had doubled to 2 million people, according to the Department.
At the time, California had a population of almost 20 million, according to the U.S. Census Bureau, so this meant that only about 2 percent of people in California were covered by Medi-Cal.
By 1986, Medi-Cal recipients had grown to 3 million, but the recipient-to-population ratio had stayed at the same 2 percent. It was not until about 2000 that the percentage of Californians covered by the program grew.
Despite periodic surges and declines that came with policy changes and economic cycles, the rate of growth of Medi-cal enrollment remained at a consistent 4 percent until 2012. Then, from 2012 to 2014, the growth of enrollment grew to 10 percent, the highest rate of growth at the time, according to the Department.
“We were quite surprised honestly. We were glad to see that people were investing in health care again. The recession had really strained a lot of people,” said Melanie Waugh, a clerk at the Butte Community Employment Center.
Drastic Increase
Then from 2013 to 2014, Medi-cal enrollment grew by 35 percent, its highest rate of growth of all time.
Two separate things influenced that huge increase of enrollees. The children’s health program and Obamacare said Cava.
Under the Affordable Care Act, the plan allowed for children to be covered by their parents’ insurance until the age of 26.
“That was a huge deal-breaker for me, I am comfortable knowing that my children are covered under my health insurance,” said Jeanne Wright, a mother of two.
Going Forward
Californians may or may not see a change in the healthcare industry with a new president being elected next week.
“It’s important that whoever may be the president, that people still invest in healthcare. We encourage those who are discouraged to make the proper investment to keep yourselves and your family healthy,” Cava said.
Cava says that they unable to predict how a new presidential administration would impact Medi-cal, but still believe that the program will continue to cover millions of Californians and provide proper health care.
“We will focus on maintaining adequate access to care for our Medi-cal patients, as well as improving their health and well-being through the more efficient and effective use of scarce resources,” Cava said.
The programs hopes that in 50 years they will continue providing quality healthcare to low-income families and will continue to work with families to ensure that goal.