With the new health reform legislation known as the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA), at the forefront of political debate right now, many must think about their health care coverage, or lack thereof. According to a UCLA study, last year nearly 8.2 million Californians under the age of 65 did not have health insurance, meaning 24.3% of the population had to worry about paying out of pocket. The health insurance gap often causes people to put off needed medical care to avoid the high costs associated with it.
In 2009 UCLA Center for Health Policy Research reported that 1 in 7 Californians are in debt due to medical expenses. This shows that the issue we must focus is not only on the uninsured but the underinsured as well. With the unemployment rate at in all time high these numbers are not likely to go down any time soon.
Finding low cost health insurance today can be difficult, especially for the millions of Americans who buys their own health coverage. For those who do not qualify for Medi-Cal, they are faced with many options for health insurance but few of them are inexpensive creating the large number of those uninsured or underinsured. California however, has already started a health care exchange where people can get pricing and buy insurance, and opened enrollment for kids with pre-existing health conditions.
This is just the first step however, many more must be made to truly transform the healthcare system. The state has much work to do to prepare for the implementation of the PPACA in 2014, but still struggles with the large deficit. To make matters worse, Governor Jerry Brown recently suggested that $1.7 billion be cut from Medi-Cal, greatly affecting all those that depend on the Medicaid program.
Having to deal with a large state and federal deficit, as well as the legislative and judicial process that is currently surrounding the health care reform there is not much hope coming anytime soon for those who need it.
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