Thread by @EthnicMediaSvc

👉Join us at 11am today for this important conversation as #California prepares to review eligibility for millions of #MediCal recipients. We'll be speaking with experts and health care practitioners about what this could mean. Follow the livestream: ethnicmediaservices.org/media-briefing…

Welcome to today's briefing sponsored by @DHCS_CA and organized by EMS and @CaliforniaBlac2. We'll be looking at who is at risk for being disenrolled from #MediCal under California's "great unwinding," and what people can do to get ready.

Our first speaker is Yingjia Huang, Assistant Deputy Director, Department of Health Care Services. April began the renewal process for 15 million MediCal recipients, says Huang. The process had been suspended during the #Covid pandemic.

Over the next year every enrollee will have their eligibility reviewed. Members will need to update personal info, ie address, phone #s etc with local MediCAl offices.

The easiest way to do this is online via BenefitsCal or MyBenefitsCalWin, says Huang.

Everyone's renewal date is different. The process will run through May of 2024, Huang notes. MediCal members will need to log in to find out when their date is and to update personal information.

It is "critical" that members do all of this by the due date, otherwise it is possible they may lose coverage. Those who have seen an increase in pay will also need to update income information, explains Huang.

Go to medicalcoverage.org to get the most current information.

Members will have until the end of the month when they receive their packet in the mail to return it with the updated information. It is critical that recipients take note of the due date in order to avoid potential delays.

A majority of recipients will have to be "re-determined." About 30% will likely be auto-renewed says Huang. The remaining 70% can expect to receive a yellow packet in the mail.

Accessing social security payments is one way that could change one's eligibility. Any increase in income or if someone got employer-based coverage are other examples.

A question about #undocumented #farmwrkers and what @DHCS_CA is doing to ensure these people stay enrolled. "We are using a couple of tactics," says Huang. The dpt has health enrollment navigators who are partnering with local CBOs and "trusted messengers."

dhcs.ca.gov/services/medi-…

"We are the biggest such program in the US... and our health enrollment navigators are a pillar of our success," says Huang.

The Protecting Immigrant Families Coalition is also hosting a webinar for partners working with immigrant communities to share more information on the unwinding and public charge. See below. us02web.zoom.us/webinar/regist…

Our next speaker is @mayraealvarez with @KidsPartnership. "We cannot understate the significance of what is happening across this state with this unwinding... we need to help families keep their coverage as we come out of this public health emergency."

15 million Californians depend of #MediCal, inclding 5.7 million children. Almost 70% of children in the program are children of color. "It is a lifeline for our communities."

Despite the changes coverage can continue, and there are other opportunities, including @CoveredCA. If you're moving frequently, or changing jobs, or even the misspelling of a name can require multiple calls to protect one's coverage, says Alvarez.

Procedural terminations can hit families who would otherwise still be eligible. "We're risking disrupting the very coverage that families need," she adds. "Those that often lose coverage lose it unnecessarily."

800,000 to 1 million children could lose coverage during this redetermination process, says Alvarez. Even one child unnecessarily losing coverage is "unacceptable."

"The work to protect Californians... is going to require an all hands on deck effort." Please help spread the word.

This information about enrollment... is important as we gear up for MediCal expansion to our undocumented immigrants in '24. "We will be the first state in the country" to do this. We can only do it together.

The MediCal expansion in California "is for everyone who calls California home... it is making a safety net available for our #undocumented individuals. There is a pathway to coverage."

There is also an option to leave out one's SSN and immigration status on MediCal applications.

Enrollment in MediCal is not considered a #publiccharge so it will not impact one's immigration status, explains Alvarez. "This is important for our immigrant communities to know."

If all of these barriers were removed during the pandemic, why can't they be eliminated permanently? They are an example of the racist procedures that keep people out, says Alvarez. "We need to make these public programs actually work for the public."

The idea of universal coverage is a shared goal for many. The pathway there and what it means is the question. There has been a commission looking at this... and there are a lot of ideas. "It's an exciting time to ensure more Americans are aware of these opps."

"I started working with undocumented children to enroll them 15 years ago... we are in a much better position today," says Maria Romero-Mora of @DHCS_CA.

Information on enrollment for children ages 0-5: childrenspartnership.org/research/conti…

More reliable information on MediCal enrollment here: allinforhealth.org/public-charge/

This resource will soon be available in Chinese, Spanish and Tagalog, says Alvarez.

Toolkit for communicating this redetermination process to ensure those who need coverage do not lose it. dhcs.ca.gov/toolkits/Pages…

You can learn more about this process here: ethnicmediaservices.org/health-care/mi…

"Anybody... can apply for MediCal," says Romero-Mora, who says her biggest worry is that people won't even try.

"My biggest hope is for everyone to keep covered. My biggest worry is people will get that yellow envelope and won't return it," says Huang.

"Let's go forward and get our people enrolled," says Alvarez.

Thanks to all our excellent speakers for today's conversation. Visit ethnicmediaservices.org to see recordings of this and past briefings.