AP Photo\/Damian Dovarganes, File FILE - In this Oct. 1, 2013, file photo, Rosa Guerra, 52, right, gets a free eye exam during the Binational Health Week event held at the Mexican Consulate in Los Angeles. Health care advocates say President Obamas immigration action should enable hundreds of thousands of low-income immigrants in Calif., to qualify for Medi-Cal even as state officials say its premature to comment. <\/p>\n
SACRAMENTO, Calif. President Barack Obama's executive order to spare some immigrants from deportation has galvanized Democrats, immigration groups and health care advocates in California to push for expanding health coverage to a segment of the population that remains uninsured. <\/p>\n
The president's action excludes immigrants who came to the country illegally from qualifying for federal health benefits. But California has its own policy of providing health coverage with state money to low-income immigrants with so-called \"deferred action\" that allow them to avoid deportation. Immigrant and health care advocates say that means Obama's executive order will enable hundreds of thousands of low-income immigrants in California to apply for Medi-Cal, California's version of Medicaid. <\/p>\n
Anthony Wright, executive director of Health Access California, said allowing this expanded group of immigrants to participate in the Medicaid program will enable people to get primary and preventive care, \"rather than just at the emergency room.\" <\/p>\n
The California Department of Health Care Services, however, has yet to receive formal guidance. A state official said it's too early to tell how the immigration program will impact the overall Medi-Cal program, which is consuming an increasing share of state funds. <\/p>\n
Medi-Cal is a health program for the poor paid for by the federal government and the state. It has grown by about 3 million people in California under federal health care reform and now covers more than 11 million Californians, about 30 percent of the state's population. The federal government is paying for the expansion, but the state will eventually pay 10 percent of additional costs to cover low-income adults, many of whom are childless. <\/p>\n
The state is expected to spend more than $17 billion of its own money on the program this year, up 3.5 percent a year ago, according to the Legislative Analyst's Office. <\/p>\n
AP Photo\/Damian Dovarganes, File FILE - In this Oct. 1, 2013, file photo, Alberto Pizon, right, a representative of Anthem BlueCross BlueShield Latino Health Access group provides free information to Paulino Zarate, 65, left, on the new health options available during a health fair promoted at the Binational Health Week event held at the Mexican Consulate in Los Angeles. Health care advocates say President Obamas immigration action should enable hundreds of thousands of low-income immigrants in Calif. to qualify for Medi-Cal even as state officials say its premature to comment. <\/p>\n
\"We are assessing what some of the potential impacts could be, but it would be premature for us to comment until we have more specific information available,\" said Norman Williams, a spokesman for the Department of Health Care Services. <\/p>\n
The president's action has also emboldened a Democratic lawmaker to revive a bill that would provide health coverage to all Californians, regardless of their immigration status. <\/p>\n
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California pushes to expand immigrant health care<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" AP Photo\/Damian Dovarganes, File FILE - In this Oct. 1, 2013, file photo, Rosa Guerra, 52, right, gets a free eye exam during the Binational Health Week event held at the Mexican Consulate in Los Angeles. Continue reading