All across the country, millions of senior citizens depend on Medicare and Medicaid for their insurance coverage. These are publicly funded insurance policies designed to help protect the most vulnerable members of our society.
In California, Medicaid services are known as Medi-Cal. It is insurance coverage designed to help cover costs of medical care for low income individuals. Being a senior citizen does not automatically qualify someone for Medi-Cal, but many seniors do live close to or below the poverty line. As someone ages, income becomes more and more difficult to generate, especially if there are health issues or disabilities at play.
One of the harsh realities surrounding all of this is the fact that the pandemic has made access to care a lot more difficult than ever before. There were already care shortages in parts of the country prior to COVID-19. The onset of the pandemic changed things for many providers. In some parts of the country, a lot of providers changed up the types of insurance that they will accept, including stopping accepting Medicaid. Unfortunately, this has hurt some of the people who have the least amount of access to assistance. While it was necessary for some providers to do this in order to preserve jobs and keep their businesses functioning and able to help people, it did have a negative impact on some vulnerable members of our society.
There’s not an easy answer here. Expanding what Medicare and Medicaid cover would help, but like all complex issues, it’s just not that easy. Expanding how public insurance works will help, but only if the system itself adapts along with those changes. What that might look like, I don’t know.
Right now, Medicare and Medicaid don’t cover as much as most people believe that they will. When it comes to medical costs, care, prescriptions and more, there are a lot of out of pocket expenses that people are impacted by. For a lot, this is a huge financial burden. In some cases, it prevents people from getting the care and attention that they truly deserve. This is unfortunate and shouldn’t happen. No one should ever be denied the help that they need because of finances. Expanding how insurance works and is applied could be a potential step forward to prevent this from happening.
It applies to senior care, too. Paying for care is a big burden for many. Not all things are covered by insurance. It can be quite confusing if you aren’t an expert in health insurance.
Working with a professional that does have a knowledge of these things can make life a lot easier and less stressful for you and your family. If you have questions about navigating insurance or paying for care in California, please reach out to one of our care professionals. We know how difficult this can be for families and want to make it as easy and stress-free as possible. That’s why we offer free consultations. We’ll answer questions, give advice, and get you pointed in the right direction.
Give us a call to start the conversation.
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