Health care reform policies and implementation

Healthcare Reform Initiatives in California

The citizens of California are fortunate to have one of the best healthcare systems in the United States. This paper reviews the laws and initiatives that relate to the healthcare coverage and facilities that are available to Californians. This state has led the way in progressive laws that give consumers the tools to stay as healthy as possible.

The Reform Initiatives in California

First of all, California was the first state to set up its health insurance exchange, which will begin enrolling people in the fall of 2013 for coverage in 2014. The federal Affordable Care Act (ACA) mandates that "health insurance exchanges" be established (by federal or state governments) and be ready to help consumers choose the right plan by 2014; these exchanges are "virtual marketplaces" where citizens can buy health insurance at "competitive prices" (Colliver, 2012, p. 2). The exchanges will receive federal subsidies but essentially it is not a federally funded program but it is established by the federal government to help citizens meet healthcare needs without having to go broke doing to.

Also in California the state has expanded coverage to "…low-income residents" that are not eligible under the current rules for Medi-Cal, Colliver explains in the San Francisco Chronicle. About 400,000 Californians, who have meager incomes and can't afford to protect their families with health insurance -- many of whom are "childless adults" -- are covered through "temporary programs in 47 counties (Colliver, p. 2). In 2014, when the full impact of the ACA is to be felt, many of those residents will be transferred to Medi-Cal, Colliver continues.

Meantime about 11,000 Californians are currently enrolled in a "…new high-risk insurance pool created by the federal law for people whose medical histories make it difficult or impossible to get coverage" (Colliver, p. 2).

Sacramento County has its own program to help low income citizens; it is called the Low Income Health Program (LIHP), and it is an optional federal program that is part of the state's "Bridge to Reform" program. The Bridge to Reform program was set up to serve the needs of very low income people until the ACA becomes fully implemented. The point of programs like this isn't just to use state and federal money to help those who can't help themselves vis-a-vis health care coverage; it is to "…decrease the hospital emergency room use," according to the California Healthline (November 5, 2012). The LIHP program is only available to people without children whose income is less than $7,500, the California Healthline explains. Interestingly, when presidential candidate Mitt Romney spoke about why he would like to remove the Affordable Care Act from federal law, he said there is a healthcare service that is available to everyone everywhere -- the emergency room.