L.A. County expands no-cost healthcare

[cal04]

Hoping to establish new programs before Medi-Cal takes over in 2014, it plans to register as many as 550,000 patients and assign them to medical clinics for free services.
http://www.latimes.com/health/la-me-health-reform-la-20111010,0,4242519.story

In one of the largest expansions of health coverage to the uninsured, Los Angeles County is enrolling hundreds of thousands of residents in a publicly funded treatment program and setting the stage for the national healthcare overhaul.

The county hopes to register as many as 550,000 patients and is assigning them to medical clinics for services at no cost to them. At the same time, the county is transforming its healthcare system to be less focused on acute care and more on primary care. The changes are expected to reduce costs, streamline care and attract patients.

Under President Obama's controversial healthcare overhaul, millions more uninsured Californians will be eligible for Medicaid — the healthcare program for the poor — beginning in 2014. Even as the debate over the law continues in Washington, California is starting that expansion now and using federal dollars to do so. Altogether, the state expects to receive $2.3 billion to expand and modernize its Medicaid program, known as Medi-Cal, now available only to certain low-income residents.

[JDPriestly]

1. Great! This is especially important now.