A new bill introduced in the California state Senate aims to lay the groundwork for a state universal healthcare system, proposing an incremental approach that departs from recent sweeping, and unsuccessful, efforts to reshape how Californians receive care.
Under the measure by state Sen. Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco), California would begin the process of seeking a waiver from the federal government to allow Medicaid and Medicare funds to be used for a first-in-the-nation single-payer healthcare system.
“In the wake of COVID-19’s devastation, and as costs for working people have skyrocketed, the need to provide affordable healthcare to all Californians has never been greater,” Wiener said in a statement. He touted his measure as making “tangible steps on a concrete timeline toward achieving universal and more affordable healthcare in California.”
I've grown to absolutely love the way Hawaii state legislation summarizes the situation being addressed by the bill in question; they don't hold any punches in explaining why the bill is necessary:
The legislature finds that obstacles to access to health care based solely on immigration status prevent many low-income immigrants and immigrants' families from obtaining affordable health care coverage through medicaid, the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP), and health insurance exchanges established under part II of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.
(3) Access limited to lawful residents.--If an individual is not, or is not reasonably expected to be for the entire period for which enrollment is sought, a citizen or national of the United States or an alien lawfully present in the United States, the individual shall not be treated as a qualified individual and may not be covered under a qualified health plan in the individual market that is offered through an Exchange.
Again, this doesn't just mean that they can't get federal financial help; it means they can't enroll via ACA exchanges at all:
Undocumented immigrants aren’t eligible to buy Marketplace health coverage, or for premium tax credits and other savings on Marketplace plans. But they may apply for coverage on behalf of documented individuals.
Connecticut House Bill 6616 was introduced to the state House in February with a total of 13 cosponsors (all Democrats). Since then it's had a public hearing and has been reported favorably out of the legislative commissioners' office and to the House Appropriations Committee.
The bill seems to expand Medicaid and/or CHIP eligibility ("Husky A, B or D") to a significant number of undocumented children in the state, but it's rather densely worded, making it difficult for me to be certain just how far up the age range it applies. However, according to Louise Norris, it would extend it from the current 12-year old limit for undocumented children up to age 20 by January 2024 and age 25 by later that year, as long as their household income is still below the thresholds currently in place for those populations:
Section 17b-261 of the general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective January 1, 2024):
One of the most inane restrictions of the ACA in my view, as I noted in my "If I Ran the Zoo" wish list back in 2017, is that it doesn't allow undocumented immigrants to enroll in ACA marketplace health plans ("Qualified Health Plans" or QHPs).
I don't just mean that they aren't eligible for federal financial subsidies--that's a prohibition which I can at least understand, even if I don't agree with it. I mean that they aren't allowed to enroll in ACA exchange-based QHPs even at full price, as noted in Section 1312(f)(3):
Thousands of Residents Have Used the Marketplace to Enroll in 2023 Health Insurance
DENVER— This Thursday, December 8, is Get Covered Colorado Day. This day of action encourages as many Coloradans as possible to enroll in 2023 health coverage during the annual Open Enrollment Period, which runs through January 15. In the first five weeks of this year’s Open Enrollment, approximately 145,000 residents enrolled in a plan through Colorado’s official health insurance marketplace, Connect for Health Colorado.
Seeing how Connect4HealthCO announced 57.5K enrollees just 6 days ago, it's pretty safe to assume that they didn't have over 87,000 more Coloradans suddenly enroll in less than a week. Presumably the 145K figure includes auto-renewals of the remaining current enrollees who haven't actively signed up for a 2023 policy yet.
DENVER— Since November 1, more than 57,500 people have used Connect for Health Colorado’s marketplace to enroll in a health insurance plan. That’s 7,000 enrollments ahead of the same time period last year. Approximately 78 percent of those who have enrolled so far are qualifying for financial help that reduces the cost of plans.
Connect for Health Colorado’s Chief Executive Officer, Kevin Patterson, released the following statement:
“I’m so pleased that people are getting covered early in the enrollment period and that we’re continuing to see enrollment growth year over year. That tells me that our marketplace is giving people the options they’re looking for, at prices that are within their budget. For those who are waiting to sign up, I urge that you make an appointment with an enrollment specialist and enroll by December 15 to begin the new year with peace of mind.”
One of the most inane restrictions of the ACA in my view, as I noted in my "If I Ran the Zoo" wish list back in 2017, is that it doesn't allow undocumented immigrants to enroll in ACA marketplace health plans ("Qualified Health Plans" or QHPs).
I don't just mean that they aren't eligible for federal financial subsidies--that's a prohibition which I can at least understand, even if I don't agree with it. I mean that they aren't allowed to enroll in ACA exchange-based QHPs even at full price, as noted in Section 1312(f)(3):
(3) Access limited to lawful residents.--If an individual is not, or is not reasonably expected to be for the entire period for which enrollment is sought, a citizen or national of the United States or an alien lawfully present in the United States, the individual shall not be treated as a qualified individual and may not be covered under a qualified health plan in the individual market that is offered through an Exchange.
One of the most inane restrictions of the ACA in my view, as I noted in my "If I Ran the Zoo" wish list back in 2017, is that it doesn't allow undocumented immigrants to enroll in ACA marketplace health plans ("Qualified Health Plans" or QHPs).
I don't just mean that they aren't eligible for federal financial subsidies--that's a prohibition which I can at least understand, even if I don't agree with it. I mean that they aren't allowed to enroll in ACA exchange-based QHPs even at full price, as noted in Section 1312(f)(3):
(3) Access limited to lawful residents.--If an individual is not, or is not reasonably expected to be for the entire period for which enrollment is sought, a citizen or national of the United States or an alien lawfully present in the United States, the individual shall not be treated as a qualified individual and may not be covered under a qualified health plan in the individual market that is offered through an Exchange.
Last week I noted that of the 33 million people still uninsured in the United States, around 6.5 million of them can't be covered via Affordable Care Act provisions because they're undocumented immigrants, who aren't legally allowed to #GetCovered via either the ACA exchanges (private coverage) or Medicaid expansion (public coverage). Another 3.7 million legal residents/citizens, of course, are caught in the Medicaid Gap. I also brought up the undocumented immigrant factor in a piece yesterday trying to break out the other portions of that 33 million total.
Anyway, in the comments, "dawgitall" asked a reasonable question: If there's around 11 million undocumented immigrants in the U.S. total (everyone seems to agree on that estimate), and 6.5 million of them aren't insured at all, what's the deal with the remaining 4.5 million?
