Search: 03/2010

Medi-Cal, California’s Medicaid program, is the main source of health care insurance for 6.8 million people, or one in six Californians. During the 2008 – 09 fiscal year, it drew $27 billion in federal funds into the state’s health care system and accounted for 19 percent of General Fund spending.

The number of uninsured patients treated at public hospital systems increased 23% from 2008 to 2009, resulting in a severe financial strain on the system that may force hospitals to close their doors, according to the National Association of Public Hospitals and Health Systems.

Nearly 1 in 4 Californians under age 65 had no health insurance last year, according to a new report, as soaring unemployment propelled vast numbers of once-covered workers into the ranks of the uninsured. The state's uninsured population jumped to 8.2 million in 2009, up from 6.4 million in 2007, marking the highest number over the last decade, investigators from UCLA's Center for Health Policy Research said.

The new health reform law is the most far-reaching health legislation since the creation of the Medicare and Medicaid programs. The following is a look at the impact of the law, which will extend insurance coverage to 32 million additional Americans by 2019, but which will also have an effect on almost every citizen. Here are some commonly-asked questions about how you might be affected.

This tool illustrates premiums and government assistance under the types of reform proposals being considered for people under age 65 who purchase coverage on their own in an Exchange and are not covered through their employer, Medicare or Medicaid.

Figure $2 billion to $3 billion. That's the state of California's rough estimate of what national healthcare expansion ultimately will cost it each year.

While hospital care accounts for one-third of dollars spent in healthcare, overall spending for hospital care has shown the slowest growth among healthcare services, according to a new American Hospital Association report that examines spending growth on patient care.

Over the past 21 years, the percent of uninsured Californians under age 65 has continued to rise as employer-sponsored health insurance has declined. Between 1987 and 2008, employer-sponsored coverage declined 9%. Although Medicaid and individually purchased coverage partially offset this decline, more than 20% of Californians remain uninsured.