For Advocates

In June 2019, the state of California approved the 2019-2020 budget, which included the #Health4All Medi-Cal expansion to cover all income-eligible young adults, regardless of immigration status. This is an expansion to the landmark 2016 coverage of undocumented children in California up to age 19 via SB 75.

As a result of the young adult expansion, or #Health4AllYoungAdults, an estimated 90,000 Californians will gain coverage beginning January 1, 2020.

Individuals who will be impacted

"Transitioning" Population

This includes individuals who are currently enrolled in restricted-scope Medi-Cal (also known as emergency or pregnancy Medi-Cal) but are now eligible for full-scope under the young adult expansion. It also includes individuals who enrolled in full-scope Medi-Cal through the previous Health4All Kids expansion and will remain eligible after turning 19 under the new expansion. These individuals should have received letters from the California Department of Health Care Services (DHCS) notifying them that they are being automatically transitioned from restricted to full-scope Medi-Cal and therefore their benefits are increasing.

New Enrollees

This includes individuals ages 19 up to 26 who are newly eligible for full-scope Medi-Cal under the young adult expansion but are not enrolled in restricted-scope Medi-Cal and therefore not in the Medi-Cal system already. These individuals will need to apply for Medi-Cal through any of the existing application methods (find information about how to apply here).

For more details and tips for outreach, check out the below webinar with health advocates:

The Slides
The Recording

As an enroller, what can you do to help?

  • Assist families with navigating the enrollment process.
  • Encourage patients to bring a friend or family member with them to the visit, to ease their comfort
  • Coordinate and partner with county Medi-Cal eligibility office to identify and address the specific local enrollment issues facing the community during implementation.
  • Work with local partners to organize and coordinate community events to educate and enroll families.

How can you be more supportive to the needs of immigrant communities?

  • Help families navigate complex systems of care by assisting with paperwork, providing empathetic care, and linking patients to community resources
  • Ask patients which language they prefer to use, and provide interpretation and resources in that language when possible
  • Provide training for staff and ensure that as part of their training they refrain from terms like “illegal”, “DREAMer”, “DACA kid”
  • Respect intersecting identities of immigrants, including race, sexual orientation, gender, ability, etc.
  • Reduce fear of detention and deportation by clarifying how personal information will be shared.
    • Personal information on Medi-Cal applications is confidential and can only be used for enrollment purposes (California Welfare & Institutions Code Section 14100.2)

Additional Resources

Visit our sister site, health4allkids.org for more enrollment resources.