Medi-Cal’s shortage in California reaches $ 6.2 billion with “unprecedented” cost increases

California’s hole Medi-Cal The budget seems more than what civil servants reported only last week.

California healthcare officials told the legislature on Monday that the state would need another $ 2.8 billion to be able to pay Medi-Cal suppliers by the end of the fiscal year.

This is at the top of a $ 3.4 billion loan that the administration told legislators last week that it should do “Critical” Medi-Cal paymentsThe State Federal Health Insurance Program for low-income people.

In combination, it is $ 6.2 billion in cost over what was screened on the budget governor Gavin Newo, signed last summer. Almost 15 million Californians have a healthcare coverage through Medi-Cal, also known as Medicaid.

“With the loan and these additional funds, the administration plans to be able to manage the cost of the rest of the current year,” says Michel Bass, director of the Ministry of Health Services, which runs Medi-Cal.

The BAS told legislators in a budget hearing that several factors contribute to the higher than expected costs, including an increase in pharmacy costs, but also greater enrollment growth than the estimated country. On the one hand, the state is underestimated Number of immigrants without legal status Who would register with the program in the last year.

The BAS said the department has about a month of data on new policies before it has to make forecasts for the Newsom budget signed.

“These changes were unprecedented and everyone happened at once,” Bass said.

Developments include:

• More immigrants without legal status recorded in the program than expected. In the last 10 years California has Extended Medi-Cal Covered of undocumented people in different age groups. The final group, adults aged 26 to 49, was allowed to apply for Medi-Cal from January 1, 2024. In January $ 2.7 billion beyond what is budget Due to the cost of covering care and recipes for newly established immigrants. According to updated estimates by the administration, it costs the state about $ 8.5 billion from the common immigrant coverage fund that is in the country without legal permission.
• Also, starting on January 1, 2024, more elderly people were able to register for Medi-Cal after the state stopped counting certain assets, such as cars, homes and savings, when it was considering admissibility. Now, like everyone else, adult admissibility is based on their income.

• The program is observed greater complete recording due to the flexibility associated with the pandemic. The general population of Medi-Cal in California is ballooned during the Covid-19 pandemic, when the Federal Government temporarily terminated income admissibility checks to retain people insured during the national emergency. The number of people who dropped out of the program after the pandemic was smaller than it was supposed to the department.

BAS said other countries are also exceeding the budget, noting that healthcare costs are generally increasing in the United States

Overcoming the budget has destroyed some state republicans who say that the governor and the Democrats are too promised when they decided to expand Medi-Cal’s services for all low-income immigrants. The Democrats have come up with the expansion and efforts of the state to keep people covered during the pandemic.

“The things you are talking about mean we have succeeded,” Bass told Bass during a Monday hearing Pyle Shiavo. “We were able to keep people covered, to make sure they have access to healthcare.”

Schiavo added that California’s current shortage is allowed, but less is the potential abbreviations of Medicaid, which the congress is currently weighing.

Republicans from home recently voted to progress a proposal that could lead to cuts of $ 880 billion for a group of programsTo a large extent Medicaid over the next 10 years. According to some estimates that could turn into annual losses of $ 10 billion to $ 20 billion a year For California, the amount of civil servants said the state would not be able to fill.

Supported by the California Foundation for Health (CHCF), which works to ensure that people have access to the necessary care when they need it, at a price they can afford. Visit www.chcf.org to learn more.