The Children''s Partnership joins a coalition of child advocates to ensure that children with autism do not lose access to critical behavioral health services after their transition from Healthy Families to Medi-Cal. “The state needs to address this urgent situation immediately and ensure children in Medi-Cal receive medically necessary behavioral health therapies,” said Wendy Lazarus, Founder & Co-President of The Children’s Partnership. “Because of this serious problem, the state should not move forward with any future phases of the Healthy Families transition until the issue is resolved and continuity of care can be assured.”
Download the full press release here. (pdf)
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California Healthline
The Heathy Families transition started Jan. 1, moving 197,000 children to Medi-Cal managed care plans. So far, according to DHCS officials, the telephone complaint hotline has been pretty quiet. "That's what we're trying to assess right now," said Kristen Golden Testa, director of the California Health Program for The Children's Partnership. She said several provider groups are conducting surveys of their members to see what providers are experiencing, and that data hasn't come in yet. "I'm not sure I would rely on the call center and complaint lines because on the ground is where we'll hear it," she said.
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California plans to start moving children from the Healthy Families Program into Medi-Cal on January 1. The Children's Partnership joins other advocates to highlight the importance of assuring children’s health care is not disrupted.
“The health of the 875,000 children who will move from Healthy Families to Medi-Cal, as well as the nearly 3.7 million children currently in enrolled in Medi-Cal, depends on the success of this transition. All eyes will be on the state. We and families across California are counting on state officials to track and quickly resolve any problems that arise,” said Wendy Lazarus, Founder and Co-President of The Children’s Partnership.
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California Healthline
State health officials will go on as scheduled with the first phase of the Healthy Families transition to Medi-Cal managed care, beginning January 1, 2013. Children's health advocates say they will do everything to support that effort while still keeping a careful eye on its progress.
"The signs are the Brown Administration will proceed with this, so the attention has to be on how to monitor what's happening," says Wendy Lazrus, founder and co-president of The Children's Partnership.
Download the article with her full comments here.
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California Watch
As 870,000 children are moved from the Healthy Families Program to Medi-Cal beginning January 1, 2013, children's advocates express concern about children having access to care. "Our worry is that there seems to be an intention to proceed with these transitions without that certainty that the doctors will be there to meet all these kids," said Kathleen Hamilton, director of governmental affairs with the Children's Partnership.
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California Healthline, Capitol Desk
Wendy Lazarus, Founder and Co-President, responds to last week's action in California: 415,000 notices were sent to inform Healthy Families participants they will need to switch to Medi-Cal managed care plans on January 1.
"Stakeholders are not against the transition, but are concerned about the speed at which changes take place. When so many providers and consumers are forming opinions about Medi-Cal managed care and about health care reform in general, it's important this transition does not cause undue concern." Ms. Lazarus continues, "With a little more due diligence, it can be done better. If it's premature at the start of it, that could plant questions in the minds of the public to implement health reform. It just needs a little more time to make it right."
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According to a new report by the Georgetown University Health Policy Institute’s Center for Children and Families, the rate of uninsured children in California declined 1.5 percent between 2009 and 2011, which ranks the state 12th in the nation for the decline in the child uninsured rate.
“This reduction in uninsured children is fantastic news for our state’s children and families, said Wendy Lazarus, Founder and Co-President of The Children’s Partnership. “With the implementation of health care reform just around the corner and our state’s commitment to successfully transition nearly 900,000 children from Healthy Families to Medi-Cal, it is finally within our reach to ensure that every child in California receives high quality health coverage.”
Read more about the effort to insure all of California's children in the joint press release here.
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California Healthline
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KQED
Wendy Lazarus, co-president of The Children's Partnership, wants lawmakers to stick with their original plan, which would put 200,000 Healthy Families children into Medi-Cal as a test run.
"We believe that by putting added pressure on a very fragile Medi-Cal system right now,” says Lazarus, “that the plan will endanger access to care for as many as 4.5 million kids - so the Healthy Families kids and the children now in Medi-Cal.”
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Mercury News
"Medi-Cal already faces serious challenges in providing access for 3.5 million kids served by it today, and it's straining to serve them well," said Wendy Lazarus, founder and co-president of The Children's Partnership, which outlined demands in a letter co-signed by 64 groups. "But by putting added pressure on a very fragile Medi-Cal system now, the plan will endanger access to care for as many as 4.5 million kids."
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