How the Medical program is changing lives for low-income patients after years of

How the Medical program is changing lives for low-income patients after years of waiting

Medi-Cal is a medical program initiated in California and aims to help middle to low-income patients by partly costsharing medical costs. Medical is essential as it will help caregivers ease the high price of taking care of older relatives at critical times when people are struggling with jobs and also taking care of their younger ones. It will also reduce the burden on senior citizens who lack a stable income and cannot fully cater to assisted living expenses.

Two U.S residents, Chelsea Oruche and Kelsey McQuaid, face challenges in caring for their parents. In Chelsea’s case, her mother is seventy years of age, and taking care of her is pretty cumbersome since she has a young kid going to school, and at the same time, she is attending a law school. Due to her mother’s old age, she deserves better health care and attention, and Chelsea does not have the experience.

Kelsey McQuaid’s case is similar to Chelsea’s in that her mother, who is 67, also needs assistance, and her wife expects a child. Kelsey’s family finds it challenging to give their mother full-time care and attention, especially because she has Dementia and also needs a memory care program.

The above incidences are common among most American families. In the next decade, demographics show that more than a quarter of the people in California will be above 65 years of age and thus require special care and attention. Aided living and memory care facilities are expensive, ranging from about $5,000 to $7000 each month. The prices remain high even for people that receive more income and could be said to be living comfortably. Medi-Cal programs have been of help and a source of hope for caregivers and seniors. So far, it is active in 15 counties, Los Angeles and Sacramento.

There is high demand for the Medi-Cal program, and although it is expanding, many people will wait up to one year before they benefit from the plan and are put in an assisted living center. Some people who will benefit from the Medi-cal plan have been waiting since 2019, indicating that patience is necessary to be a beneficiary.

Recently collected data showed that over 6,000 people are registered under the MediCal assisted living programs while over 4500 people are waiting to be enrolled. Assisted living programs are helpful, especially for people with

special needs and physical disabilities. Demand and supply.

As indicated earlier, demand is high while supply is still insufficient to care for almost all families requiring special care and can no longer take care of themselves, especially the low-income seniors. Thus, there is a need to put up more facilities to reduce the number of people on the waitlist and make life easier for most people in the long run.

Needs for more facilities led California to seek permission from the federal government to add 7,000 spots for older citizens. Medi-Cal needed to seek consent since the state and federal governments fund them. Hopefully, by February 28, 2024, the waitlist will reduce by Medi-Cal admitting more people into their facilities.

The success of Medi-cal is also dependent on external factors such as the availability of beds and continued supply and demand. Medi-Cal aims to align assisted medical services, making them easily accessible for people of all classes. Medi-Cal is a program that partially pays for older seniors leaving them to cater for bed and board fees. Although the health program has existed for quite some time, most Californians are unaware of the initiative. According to advocates, need is more critical than waitlist numbers. They emphasize that most people should be knowledgeable about the program to understand it better.

Maura Gibney, a California Advocates for Nursing Home Reform director, classifies Medi- Cal as an opaque initiative since most Californians are unaware of its merits. The conclusion was based on the low outreach vivid among citizens.

MANEUVERING THE SYSTEM

Medi-Cal is primarily for seniors who require full-time attention but necessarily do not require it in a clinical facility for occupancy. More than 50% of older people and those with disabilities require full-time help and assistance in their daily activities. Roughly 20% need help with personal activities like eating, bathing, and even clothing, while 40% of the seniors also require this help but are not receiving any. Qualified people, such as those with disabilities, benefit from Medi-Cal assisted living.

Seniors already benefiting from Medi-Cal can be enrolled in assisted living facilities in two ways: either as a transfer from a nursing home (to enable the state to save more money) or after being discharged from the hospital. Such individuals are prioritized and do not have to get on the waitlist.

Other means that lead to people not being put on the waitlist are consulting the Adults Protective Service Agencies, which was practical and of great assistance to McQuaid and his family.