CALIFORNIA HEALTHLINE: California Advocates Seek Information on Children’s Exchange Plans

CALIFORNIA HEALTHLINE: California Advocates Seek Information on Children’s Exchange Plans

Pediatric coverage benefits offered through the Affordable Care Act’s exchange plans vary widely across the country – and so far, there is little data to show whether or not these variations are creating gaps in the children’s care here.

California children’s advocates have asked for more data from Covered California, the state’s insurance marketplace. They’ll use that information to identify any coverage gaps that can be sealed when California has the opportunity to revisit the requirements for children’s care, likely in 2016.

Kathleen Hamilton of the Santa Monica-based nonprofit The Children’s Partnership said she’s interested in seeing if these plans share the same dental challenges plaguing young Medi-Cal patients, more than half of whom did not receive dental care through the program in 2013, according to a state audit.