Thousands of Los Angeles County residents may lose their Medi-Cal coverage
Time to Read: 2 minute
Nearly 40,000 county residents may lose their access to Medi-Cal with the end of the rules imposed by the pandemic; people need to submit documentation to show they do qualify for coverage.
Thousands of Los Angeles County residents are in danger of losing their Medi-Cal service coverage.
Health officials voiced concern that 40,000 county residents could be dropped from their coverage programs after programs imposed by the COVID pandemic ended.
According to LA Care, a publicly operated health plan in Los Angeles County, people could lose their medical services to which they were entitled thanks to the measures imposed due to the medical emergency that was applied since 2020.
When coronavirus infections broke out in the early months of 2020, the federal government prevented states from removing people from their health care programs, allowing residents to maintain their coverage without the need for having to submit documents to prove they were eligible for coverage.
However, as the measures imposed by the COVID health emergency come to an end, individuals now need to submit documentation to prove that they do qualify for Medi-Cal coverage.
Effective March 31, 2023, Los Angeles County ended the COVID public health emergency declaration, thereby , all medical support provided during the pandemic has also come to an end.
On March 31, Los Angeles County will be able to end the COVID public health emergency declaration, so all medical support offered during the pandemic will also end.
In light of this situation, the county Department of Public Social Services (DPSS) asked Medi-Cal beneficiaries to update their information in order to keep their health insurance coverage active.
Each year, the local Medi-Cal offices review the eligibility of each person who has coverage.
In late 2022, Congress passed the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2023, which established the end of of the COVID health emergency on March 31, 2023.
“County sent out annual renewal packet and requested information (from individuals). If they did not return it on time, your Medi-Cal” coverage will stop,
The measure may affect nearly 40,000 residents in Los Angeles County, but this determination has already excluded 1.5 million people across the country from Medicaid coverage.