Why are many of the most vulnerable Californians rejecting managed health care?

Why are hundreds of thousands of the state’s “dual eligibles” — fragile older seniors and disabled young people who receive both Medi-Cal and Medicare benefits — rejecting the new state-managed health care pilot program? That’s the question being posed by researchers at the UCLA Center for Health Policy Research, who have received a $400,000 grant from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and are working with community advocates, managed health care providers and health insurers to study the issue. According to recent enrollment data from the state, the overall opt-out rate for the pilot program, Cal MediConnect, is high — 45 percent. An additional 10 percent have actively dis-enrolled after having been passively enrolled. The program was designed to better coordinate medical care and long-term support services for this vulnerable population and eliminate potential overlaps in service under Medi-Cal and Medicare. “It’s been a rocky start for Cal MediConnect, and the only way to find out why these consumers are opting out of the program is to ask them,” said Kathryn Kietzman, a research scientist at the center and principal investigator of a new joint project, Consumer Healthcare Options Investigating Cal MediConnect Enrollment. The state Department of Health Care Services (DHCS) estimated before the program’s debut that one-third of the “duals” at most would opt out. But the most recent enrollment report showed the rate was significantly higher (45 ...
Source: UCLA Newsroom: Health Sciences - Category: Universities & Medical Training Source Type: news