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Waiting For Medicaid To Kick In
Nearly 2 million Californians have gained coverage with the expansion of the Medi-Cal program for poor and disabled people, including those who transitioned from temporary programs like Healthy Way LA. But roughly 800,000 more applications are pending from people presumed to be eligible for the program.
For most of Teresa Martinez’s life, buying health insurance has been out of the question. She works at a Koreatown hair salon, earning about $10 per cut — not nearly enough to afford private coverage. With a long list of ailments including dizziness, blurry vision and leg pain, she eagerly applied last year for a county program that would cover her for free until Obamacare set in.
“I thought at long last, I would be able to go to the doctor and get what I need,” said Martinez, 62, who lives in East Los Angeles. “I was so excited. But that was short lived.”
Without any explanation, Martinez received a denial letter from the Healthy Way Los Angeles, a temporary coverage program for low-income people. Later she applied for Medicaid —known as Medi-Cal in California -- which was expanded under the Affordable Care Act to include people like Martinez without dependent children.
Read the full story here: http://bit.ly/1hczoVW
Source: Kaiser Health News
Blister Packs May Help Solve Medication Adherence Challenges and Lower Health Care Costs
June 10th 2025Julia Lucaci, PharmD, MS, of Becton, Dickinson and Company, discusses the benefits of blister packaging for chronic medications, advocating for payer incentives to boost medication adherence and improve health outcomes.
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From Red Tape to Relief: Rewriting the Rules of Prior Authorization
June 23rd 2025Up to 257 million Americans could benefit from these prior authorization reforms that could have cross-market implications on health care plans administered through commercial insurers, Medicare Advantage, and Medicaid.
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