Programs & Resources / Universal Coverage

Universal Coverage

CHCF produces data and analyses to inform efforts to protect coverage gains and further expand coverage so all Californians can get the health care they need.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, the percentage of Californians with insurance hit an all-time high, in large part due to federal regulations that prohibited California from disenrolling anyone from Medi-Cal. Starting in April 2023, the state returns to pre-pandemic processes for Medi-Cal renewals, which could result in 2 to 3 million Californians leaving the program. It’s imperative that the state ensure that those who remain eligible for Medi-Cal are not disenrolled, and that others get help to transition to other types of coverage. In 2024, the state will embark on the largest expansion of Medi-Cal since the Affordable Care Act, opening the program to an additional estimated 700,000 Californians age 26 to 49 with low incomes, regardless of immigration status.

New & Noteworthy

CHCF Blog

Medicaid’s Continuous Coverage Requirement Is Over. What’s Next for California?

April 5, 2023
Amy Adams
Medi-Cal, Health Equity
Using best policies and practices, California has the opportunity to ensure that the Medi-Cal eligibility and enrollment system always prioritizes keeping people covered.
Collection

Medi-Cal and the End of the Federal Continuous Coverage Requirement

Coverage Trends
For the first time since the COVID-19 pandemic began, California resumed its normal processes to redetermine eligibility for Medi-Cal enrollees in April 2023. It will be imperative to help many of these Californians transition to other types of coverage and to ensure that those who remain eligible keep their Medi-Cal coverage.
August 17, 2022

Webinar — Effective Messaging About the Medi-Cal Expansion to Older Adults

Medi-Cal, Expanding Health Coverage
August 17, 2022
This webinar will present key findings from focus groups with Latino/x, Chinese, and Korean residents in Los Angeles who are newly eligible for Medi-Cal.
CHCF Blog

Celebrating the Expansion of Medi-Cal

June 28, 2022
Sandra R. Hernández
Expanding Health Coverage, Health Equity, Medi-Cal
CHCF's president and CEO explains how state leaders have brought us a step closer to justice and equity in health care.
CHCF Blog

Biden Administration Proposes to Fix the ‘Family Glitch’

April 8, 2022
Katie Keith
Expanding Health Coverage
Critics have long argued that the Internal Revenue Service's interpretation of this controversial rule unfairly penalizes family members of workers with lower incomes.
CHCF Blog

State, Federal Actions Protected Health Coverage for Millions During Pandemic

September 26, 2021
Heather Tirado Gilligan
Expanding Health Coverage, Medi-Cal, Coverage Trends
Stories That Caught Our Attention: The percentage of Americans with health insurance remained stable during 2020 despite a hobbled economy.
CHCF Blog

Undocumented Projected to Remain California’s Largest Group of Uninsured in 2022

April 13, 2021
Miranda Dietz, Laurel Lucia, Srikanth Kadiyala, Tynan Challenor, Annie Rak, Dylan H. Roby, Gerald F. Kominski
Expanding Health Coverage, Medi-Cal, Coverage Trends
Even after the American Rescue Plan increases premium subsidies for health insurance purchased through Covered California, large inequities remain in who has access to affordable coverage.