FA R M L A B O R I N F O R M AT I O N B U L L E T I N
Voice of the Fields California
October 2013
FREE
Volume 23, Number 10
Affordable Care Act and Covered California Enrollment
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hree years after Congress approved it, the federal Affordable Care Act (ACA) began enrolling uninsured Americans into low-cost private insurance plans on October 1, 2013. In California, more than 1 million low-income residents will gain access to Medi-Cal’s lowto-no cost health coverage. With roughly 7 million Californians uninsured, the implementation of the ACA and enrollment through Covered California – California’s new private health insurance marketplace – aims to close the health coverage gap. The 2,400-page law is filled with more than a few benefits to Californians who previously avoided doctors and other health care for fear of the high cost. One benefit of the law is a set of consumer protection measures that restrict health insurance companies from instituting a cap on lifetime or yearly medical expenses, and denying health coverage for patients with preexisting conditions. For families, the Affordable Care Act also allows adult children to stay on their parents’ health insurance plan until they reach 26 years of age. Prior to the passage of the ACA, children were removed from their parents’ insurance
plans at 18-years-old or when they graduated high school.
The Individual Mandate An important part of the new law is called the individual mandate. This will require every United States’ citizen or resident to purchase health insurance. The idea behind this mandate is to have everyone participate in the health system. Immigrants who are living and working legally in the United States will be required to participate in the health insurance mandate. Undocumented people are exempted from this mandate. Here is a brief description of how the mandate works: If you currently have insuranceeither through your employer or through a plan you purchased outside of work- you do not have to pay a penalty or worry about the mandate because you are already covered. If you do not have health insurance now you
will need to get it or face paying a tax penalty beginning in 2014. If you fall into the uninsured group, there will be new ways to make it easier for you to find and pay for health coverage. Lower-income and many middle-class families will be eligible for government run low-to-no cost health programs like Medi-Cal.
New opportunities to access Medi-Cal For more than 1.4 million Californians, the ACA is opening a new door to Medi-Cal (California’s version of the Medicaid program, a government-funded program that assists low income families and individuals with medically necessary procedures, treatment and services). The health care law expanded requirements to receive low-to-no cost health coverage through Medicaid/ Medi-Cal. You may qualify for Medi-Cal, if you are a single U.S. citizen or permanent resident earning about $15,900 or less per year or $32,500 or less per year for a family of four. Medi-Cal provides Continued on next page
Affordable Care Act and Covered California Enrollment Continued from previous page
complete health coverage – including dental insurance – for those who qualify. From 2009 until this year’s expansion of Medi-Cal, recipients over the age of 21 were unable to receive dental coverage as part of their coverage through the program. While enrollees can begin enrolling now, Medi-Cal coverage will not begin until January 2014. Also, many California counties offer Low Income Health Programs (LIHP) to some Medi-Cal patients – providing benefits earlier than those enrolling for Medi-Cal coverage and automatically transitioning patients from LIHP to Medi-Cal in January 2014. Check with your county’s social services agency (visit http://bit.ly/countyca to find contact information) to see if you qualify for LIHP. Coverage for Undocumented Workers The Affordable Care Act will be a blessing for many people who have gone too long without health coverage. But many people will still be left uninsured and unable to pay for medical care, and this includes many of the nation’s farmworkers. The ACA does provide funding to community health centers, and according to the National Association of Community Health Centers, this funding will allow migrant health centers to almost double the number of people they serve by 2015. Currently, fewer than 25% of farmworkers use migrant and
community health centers for primary and preventative services. For those people who will remain uninsured, these health centers will provide a safety net to keep them healthy. Because they do not require insurance to receive services, farmworkers and their families will continue to have access to healthcare even after the provisions of the ACA are implemented. Providing quality care to more than 5 million Californians each year, these community clinics remove barriers to care for farmworkers in a variety of ways: n Provide health care in the patients’ own language; n Provide treatment regardless of the patients’ ability to pay; n Are located in areas near migrant and seasonal farmworkers, often times using mobile vans and; n Customize services and hours of operation to meet the patients’ needs. These health centers are required to provide primary, preventative and emergency health services regardless of the patient’s ability to pay. Primary health services include diagnostic laboratory (blood tests, urine tests) and radiology services (X-rays).
Preventive health services include pediatric care, prenatal and postpartum care, immunization, family planning, health education, and preventive dental care. If a health center is not equipped for after-hours care, emergency health services will sometimes be provided by an outside provider, who has a relationship with the health centers. To see if there are any clinics near you, visit California Health+ at http:// bit.ly/esphealth, or call 1 (855) 8997587. Accessing private insurance options While many Californians qualify for Medi-Cal under the ACA’s expansion of Medicaid, others will have to seek private health insurance coverage. To help accompany the millions of Americans searching for insurance, the Affordable Care Act created private health insurance marketplaces, known as “exchanges,” in each of the 50 states. California’s marketplace is known as Covered California and sells insurance plans from Anthem Blue Cross, Blue Shield of California, Kaiser Permanente and others. The plans are categorized by the price of monthly premiums and size of out-of-pocket expenses patients will pay when receiving care.
The lowest level plan – bronze – will have low monthly premiums but high out-of-pocket costs when patients receive care. The highest plan –platinum – has high monthly premiums and low out-of-pocket costs when receiving care. Covered California’s website allows Californians to input their city, income level, number of enrollees joining on their plan to find the various plans and health care providers available. The Covered California private insurance enrollment period runs from October 1, 2013 – March 31, 2014. Medi-Cal enrollment is always open. For those enrolling prior to 2014, medical coverage will not begin until January 1, 2014. Check http://coveredca.com to see if you qualify for Medi-Cal or shop and compare private health insurers. Because finding insurance can be confusing and overwhelming, under the Affordable Care Act, States will be given Federal money for Consumer Assistance Programs. If you need help with a health insurance problem or have a question about coverage or benefits, you can contact the California Department of Managed Health Care at 1 (888) 466-2219. Spanish and English options are available.
AB 60: Driver’s Licenses for Undocumented Workers
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n January 2015, undocumented workers will have their first opportunity to obtain California driver’s licenses thanks to the passage of Assembly Bill 60 by the state legislature on September 12, 2013. The bill allows driver’s licenses for undocumented workers for the first time since 1993. The bill was recently signed by Governor Jerry Brown and means that California will join the states of Connecticut, Colorado, Maryland, Oregon, New Mexico, Illinois, Washington, Nevada and Utah, along with Washington, D.C. in allowing undocumented workers to legally drive. The bill is a major step for agricultural workers who risk their safety and legal prosecution when driving without a license. Who qualifies for a license? Under the bill, undocumented workers 16-years and older can receive driver’s licenses if they complete driver’s education and training, and also pass California’s written and driving tests. Unlike traditional driver’s licenses for citizens, undocumented workers will receive a license that states “Driving Privileges Only,” meaning that it cannot be used as a form of identification, to obtain employment, board an airplane, open a bank account or receive other public benefits. How does the process work? When applying to receive a driver’s license at the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV), undocumented
workers will submit a legal document stating that they are unable to obtain a Social Security number and cannot prove that they are legally allowed to live in the United States. Undocumented workers must also provide proof of California residency. **This DMV document with citizenship status and residency information is private and cannot be given to or used by police or other law enforcement agencies to investigate, arrest or detain undocumented workers. What is the benefit of AB60? Agricultural workers who have to take their children to school, run errands, and go to work are able to do so legally by obtaining a driver’s license at the Department of Motor Vehicles. In recent years, many sobriety checkpoints in California were used to not only stop and arrest drunk drivers but also target undocumented workers who were driving without a license. These checkpoints would result in the worker’s car being impounded for 30 days. AB 60 also has numerous safety benefits. According to the Department of Motor Vehicles, 12 percent of California drivers do not have a valid driver’s license. Even worse: the AAA Continued on next page
AB 60: Driver’s Licenses for Undocumented Workers Continued from prevvious page
Foundation for Traffic Safety found that one in five fatal crashes in the United States involve an unlicensed driver. With about 1.4 million uninsured and unlicensed drivers in California, allowing undocumented workers to obtain licenses through formal driver’s training will create safer roads across California. Also, licensed drivers in California are required to have automotive insurance, which will reduce the likelihood that unlicensed drivers will flee the scene of car accidents.
Are there any risks? There is a possibility that the bill could cause more problems for undocumented workers than it aims to solve. This problem stems from the distinction between driver’s licenses for citizens and those for undocumented workers. While driver’s licenses for undocumented workers states “Driving
Privileges Only” on the card, ones for citizens do not. This difference is what critics of the bill called a negative mark against undocumented workers. Because of this mark, police officers that pull over undocumented workers on the road could possibly report the identification of the worker to the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement to investigate the worker’s legal status. Earlier, it was noted that the bill prohibits the Department of Motor Vehicles from sharing information about the status of undocumented workers when applying for a license. This rule, however, does not specifically apply to police offices that come across undocumented workers with the new driver’s license. It is not yet clear how local police agencies and the California Highway Patrol will handle information of driver’s license-carrying
undocumented workers and whether they would or would not supply that information to immigration law enforcement agencies. Check the Voice of the Fields for more information and the latest developments on California’s new driver’s license law.
Voice of the Fields California Circulation: 50,000 copies www.LaCooperativa.org Published monthly by: La Cooperativa Campesina de California 1107 9th Street, Suite 420, Sacramento, CA 95814 Phone 916.388.2220 Fax 916.388.2425 Produced with the support of the Employment Development Department Voice of the Fields may be reproduced
Agricultural Jobs available to U.S. workers under H-2A contract You may apply for these jobs by phone or in person at your nearest Employment Development Department (EDD) field office Active
CalJobs Number
Job Title
Pay Rates
Contract Dates
Positions
City of Job
Employer’s County (for ECMS)
EDD Workforce Service Site Office
1
13992800
Bee Worker/Bees
$11.00
12/1/13 - 4/1/14
3
Wasco
Kern
Bakersfield WS (661)6352600
2
13985944
Harvesters, Lettuce, Celery, Broccoli or Cauliflower
$10.74
11/18/13 - 3/31/14
750
Bard
Imperial
El Centro WS (760)863-2600
3
13898523
Farm Worker, Sheepherder
$1422.52 Mo
on-going
206
California and Western States
California and Western States
Selected EDD WSB Offices
The H-2A temporary agricultural program allows agricultural employers who anticipate a shortage of domestic workers to bring nonimmigrant foreign workers to the U.S. to perform agricultural labor or services of a temporary or seasonal nature. The H-2A employers must demonstrate that qualified U.S. workers are not available for the job and the employment of temporary foreign workers will not adversely affect the wages and working conditions of U.S. workers similarly employed. Preference in hiring will be given to qualified U.S. workers before employers are allowed to bring in foreign workers under the program.