Was Live Fri, Apr. 5, 2024 | 11am PST
Related Coverage
- Health Coverage for Youngest Kids: California Brings Danger to a Head
- YouTube Playlist of Highlights from this Briefing
Guest Speakers
- Assemblymember Tasha Boerner, 77th California Assembly District
- Mayra E. Alvarez, President, The Children’s Partnership
- Joan Alker, Executive Director, Georgetown Center for Children and Families
- Dr. Ilan Shapiro, Chief Health Correspondent and Medical Affairs Officer, AltaMed
Event Overview
As California grapples with a budget deficit, the state risks undermining its investments in early childhood development and harming its most vulnerable children by not ensuring that they have health coverage when they need it most. The Legislature approved multi-year continuous Medicaid (Medi-Cal in California) coverage for children ages 0-5 two budget cycles ago, but they have yet to greenlight the funding for it. In the meantime, nearly 284,000 children in California have been disenrolled during the Medi-Cal eligibility renewal process required by the federal government for Medicaid beneficiaries, many because of administrative snafus and not because the children no longer qualify.
In this briefing, we’ll learn about the importance of ensuring children ages 0-5 get and are able to keep their health coverage, how gaps in coverage and issues with Medicaid renewals affect families, and the potential impact of both nationwide.
