Community members worried about their Medi-Cal coverage after recent federal funding changes packed a room in a Santa Maria church on Wednesday night, waiting to hear the fate of their medical care.
Santa Barbara County healthcare workers have a plan to transition Medi-Cal patients with “unsatisfactory immigration status” (UIS) to different primary care providers because of state and federal funding cuts targeting the health insurance program for serving the immigrant population.
About 7,000 out of the 30,000 Medi-Cal patients in Santa Barbara are considered to have unsatisfactory immigration status, according to county staff.
But as of Oct. 10, CenCal matched those 7,000 Medi-Cal patients with one of 31 different providers for primary care depending on location and need, according to Mouhanad Hammami, county health director.
At the meeting at St. Peter’s Church, county health administrators reassured residents that clinic doors are still open. The plan they created would only begin to unfold in January.
“Our ultimate goal is for no one to be left without a medical plan,” Hammami said.
California patients with UIS could also see a change in January. The California Department of Health Care Services recently announced that adults who have unsatisfactory immigration status will no longer be able to enroll in full Medi-Cal.
Gov. Gavin Newsom proposed the freeze in May, as reported by CalMatters.
This also follows the U.S. The Department of Health and Human Services decision to eliminate federal funding to clinics who serve people with this status.
Tu Tiempo Digital, Santa Maria’s Spanish-language media outlet, Together in Voice and Action coalition hosted the bilingual meeting.
Dr. Josephine Preciado also shared with residents she felt like she had “barely enough time” to find a solution.
A team of two registered nurses, a data analyst and a performance coordinator was formed to create the transition plan, according to her.
“The goal was to provide a safe and coordinated transition from the clinics to the new provider,” she said.
Ashley Freeman, a nurse supervisor, broke the plan down for how different departments and healthcare staff will support the transition.
“The staff at the Santa Barbara Health Care Center and all the clinics are dedicated to patient safety and ensuring the care of all of our patients is continued, whether that is with us or with another care provider,” she said.
The meeting also served to dispel misinformation circulating about the state and federal changes.
Hammami reassured the change is only in doctors, not insurance coverage. He also clarified that people will still have access to health care.
He also said he heard concerns that the providers would not have the capacity to serve the population, leaving residents to fill emergency rooms for medical attention. However, he said that CenCal Health has contracts with 55 primary care providers across the county, 31 of which have guaranteed capacity to support the newly assigned patients.
While there is a current legal injunction blocking the change across the state, Hammami says there is still a lot unknown.
“It poses a risk that something might happen all of the sudden where we have to manage it on a very short notice, and that would not be in the best interest for our patients,” he said.
Hammami also asked for the community’s input. He asked for people to raise their hands if they thought this was a good plan, which elicited a scattered number of shy raised hands.
“What gives us comfort is that from now until who knows when, we have a plan that can be immediately executed with a very skillful team,” he said.
Hammami also said he will go in front of the Board of Supervisors again in November for updates on their Oct. 7 meeting.
