No one doubts that there are ample holes, but America's, and California's, healthcare safety net might be a little more tightly knit than many expect.
To make the most of the current system, experts say, consumers must first know their options, which differ depending on income.
For The Record
Los Angeles Times Tuesday April 04, 2006 Home Edition Main News Part A Page 2 National Desk 1 inches; 32 words Type of Material: Correction
Health insurance: An article in Monday's Health section gave an incorrect telephone number for the California uninsured help line of the Foundation for Health Coverage Education. The correct number is (800) 234-1317.
For The Record
Los Angeles Times Monday April 10, 2006 Home Edition Health Part F Page 4 Features Desk 1 inches; 33 words Type of Material: Correction
Health insurance: An article in last week's Health section gave an incorrect telephone number for the California uninsured help line of the Foundation for Health Coverage Education. The correct number is (800) 234-1317.
Children have more options than adults. Medi-Cal, the state insurance program for poor people, covers all health costs for low-income children through age 18. The program Healthy Families provides medical care as well as dental and vision care for some children whose parents earn too much to qualify for Medi-Cal. A family of four, for example, earning $48,384 or less, can qualify for low-cost insurance for the children.
About two-thirds of the uninsured children in California could, if only they'd apply, qualify for Medi-Cal or Healthy Families, according to the UCLA Center for Health Policy Research.
Children in families who are ineligible for these programs can be insured through private programs, such as the Healthy Kids plan, CaliforniaKids and Kaiser Cares for Kids -- all of which have programs with various qualifying requirements to cover children. Monthly premiums start as low as $5 per child, and parents do not have to be insured through the plans.
Middle-income pregnant women can qualify for coverage during and through childbirth via a state program called Access for Infants and Mothers. A single woman, for example, who earns as much as $38,496 can get obstetric coverage for a total, not a monthly premium, of $577.
For many adults, finding coverage is harder, and often expensive, but not always hopeless. A patchwork of state and federal laws, for example, help people with preexisting conditions or people who are suddenly without employer-sponsored coverage.
When an adult loses a job, a federal law called COBRA allows some former employees to continue coverage under their employer's plan for 18 months. Such coverage can be expensive, because the former employee pays 102% of the premium without any employer contribution. COBRA can be extended for an additional 18 months under some circumstances, but the cost will go up -- to 150% of the premium. A state program called Health Insurance Premium Payment will cover the COBRA premiums for people who qualify for Medi-Cal and have expensive medical conditions -- because it's less expensive for the state to cover the COBRA premiums than to take on the costs of the medical condition.
