SOH knows too well how foster youth experience Medi-Cal coverage disruption. We support the work of our partners to ensure that foster youth understand their Medi-Cal coverage before and after exiting the system with Assembly Bill 1849 (Gipson).
Assembly Bill 1849 clarifies instructions about Medi-Cal coverage for youth exiting foster care at age 18 or older.
The Affordable Care Act requires states to provide youth who exit foster care at age 18 or older with Medicaid coverage (Medi-Cal in California) up to age 26 regardless of income. This extension of coverage to age 26 fills a critical need for former foster youth (FFY), who do not have the same option as their peers to stay on a parent’s insurance plan.
Existing state law requires young people exiting foster care to be automatically transitioned into the Medi-Cal program for FFY until age 26 with no interruption in coverage and with no application required. However, several sections of the code still contain outdated instructions for social workers preparing youth to transition out of foster care. As a result of outdated instructions and the lack of conformity in the code, some youth have been incorrectly dropped from coverage as they transition out of care and others have left care without receiving information about their ongoing eligibility and without a copy of their Medi-Cal benefits identification card.
For these reasons, Sanctuary of Hope supports the proposed technical fixes offered by AB 1849.
Please call, write, fax, or email your representatives to let them know you support AB 1849 too.