Growing number of suburban poor discover health care’s nowhere land

The promise of cheaper housing brought Shari Castaneda to Palmdale, California, in northern Los Angeles County, about nine years ago.

News Story (California)

Elaine Korry
CNN Money
January 31, 2018
READ THE FULL STORY HERE

Tags: Health Care, Medicaid

Organizations mentioned/involved: Neighborhood Legal Services of Los Angeles County (NLSLA)

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DETAILS

Coverage doesn’t equate to care even for patients with Medi-Cal, as Castaneda can attest. Before the health law, they had trouble finding doctors who would see them because of Medi-Cal’s low payment rates. That problem intensified as millions more signed up for Medi-Cal, driving many enrollees to seek services at safety-net care facilities.

Health care services in the suburbs “are not robust enough to fill the needs” of a growing low-income population, said Charlie Gillig, supervising attorney at the Health Consumer Center of Neighborhood Legal Services of Los Angeles County.