Community Voices: Medicaid at 50, by HPSJ CEO Amy Shin (Central Valley Business Journal, July 30, 2015)
STOCKTON — For its 50th anniversary, we’re celebrating Medicaid and how a great vision, powered by enduring partnerships, across political divides and from national to local levels, can deliver on the promise of quality health care access. Medicaid (Medi-Cal in California) continues to be government service at its best.
After President Johnson signed it into law in 1965, state and the federal governments worked to turn this first blush of health care reform into a lifeline for people who otherwise lack coverage. Since that summer 50 years ago, nearly two-thirds of Americans have either benefited directly from Medicaid or have a family member or friend who has.
For a new century, Medicaid has been expanded to become one of the two prongs of President Obama’s Affordable Care Act (ACA), alongside state exchanges. Already, Medicaid 2.0, or Expanded Medi-Cal, is reaching out to serve young adults and more low-wage working families. Medi-Cal now covers one in three of all Californians and more than half of all California children.
Throughout its history, Medicaid has given states enormous flexibility in who they cover, what benefits they provide, how they deliver health care services, and ways to control fraud, waste and abuse. Through federal waivers, states can experiment with new approaches that often lead to changes adopted by the entire country. For example, today more than half of all people with Medicaid are enrolled in a managed care plan. In California alone managed care serves about 9.5 million people, or 76 percent of the 12.4 million Medi-Cal members.
Health Plan of San Joaquin (HPSJ) was established in 1995 by state statute and San Joaquin County ordinance as a community-based, not-for-profit health plan initiative. In 2015, it is the leading Medi-Cal managed care provider for San Joaquin and Stanislaus counties. With 315,000 members – a third of our growth over the last year-and-a half since ACA implementation – HPSJ is at the forefront of health care access and delivery. We are also realistic about our challenges.
Central Valley Business Journal – Medicaid at 50