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PermalinkMonday, May 28, 2012
State Officials Push Co-Pays For Medi-Cal Patients
Aired 5/28/12
State officials are once again pushing the idea of charging people on Medi-Cal co-pays.
California — State health officials are once again asking lawmakers to approve co-pays for people on Medi-Cal. Federal officials rejected that idea earlier this year.
The rejected Medi-Cal co-payments included charges of up to $50 for emergency room visits.
The new scaled-back version would ask Medi-Cal patients to pay up to $5 for prescription drugs, and $15 for non-emergency visits to the ER.
Anthony Wright directs the non-profit group Health Access California. He admitted those charges are modest, but they can still have a negative impact.
"Even relatively low cost-sharing has a big impact on low-income families and individuals," Wright said. "Even a relatively modest co-pay discourages people from getting care."
State officials say co-pays are needed to help reduce the budget deficit.
Comments
debb | May 28, 2012 at 8:27 a.m. ― 11 months, 3 weeks ago
AS A FORMER HOSPITAL WORKER, IT SEEM MEDI-CAL PATIENTS USE THE EMERGENCY ROOM AS A DOCTOR VISIT. IF YOU DID A SURVEY, YOU WOULD PROBABLY FIND 75-80 PERCENT OF MEDICAL PATIENTS USING THE EMERGENCY ROOMS FOR NON-EMERGENT PURPOSES. WHY NOT PUT A STIPULATION THAT IF YOU HAD A NON-EMERGENT VISIT, ITS $50.00, AND $15.00 IF DEEMED A REAL EMERGENCY.
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