By McKenzie Jackson, California Black Media
Over 36,000 Black Californians maintained coverage with a health insurance provider through the 14-month Medi-Cal to Covered California redetermination process led by the California Department of Health Care Services (DHCS) and Covered California.
This number does not include Californians who have employer or private insurance or those who have been enrolled in Medi-Cal or Covered California and have met all the eligibility requirements for both programs.
In total, more than 158,000 Californians retained their health coverage through the statewide redetermination initiative, which began in April 2023 and ran until June of this year, according to DHCS.
Covered California Chief Medical Officer and Chief Deputy Executive Director Dr. S. Monica Soni said the availability of affordable health coverage can help prevent negative medical outcomes in the Golden State’s Black communities. That coverage includes Medi-Cal, California’s version of the Medicaid program — which offers free or low-cost health care
access to low-income people across the nation — or one of the affordable health plans offered through Covered California, the state’s health insurance exchange
“We know primary care is one of the ways to have good health and wellness — from behavioral health to physical health to instances where someone has a substance abuse disorder,” said Soni, also a primary care doctor and the first Black Chief Medical Officer at Covered California.
“Our communities are some of the most incredible community-oriented, health-seeking ambitious folks,” Soni continued. “We have a lot of assets in our communities, but it is true we have higher rates of death for many cancers. We have more obesity. We have really higher rates of diabetes and high blood pressure as well.”
