This post will be updated and re-dated as new resources become available.
Note: Caseload growth charts avbl (MC Persons Served and Caseload Growth Since ACA - December 2016 Data) as PDF or XLS from DT (H:\HCR) or HG (who created the charts for Mona.)
See also CWDA's ACA Resources & Federal Administration Transition page at http://www.cwda.org/post/aca-resources-federal-administration-transition.
A June 29 Angry Poodle Barbecue editorial in the Independent slipped some key statistics in with its trademark acerbic wit. "What I do know is this: 46,000 low-income people in Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo counties qualified for Medicaid under the ACA’s expanded eligibility provisions. Eighty percent of people on Medicaid live in households where at least one person works. In 2016 some studies showed that, because of the ACA, new Medicaid beneficiaries had 7,500 medical appointments to treat breast malignancies. The second leading cause of office visits for this newly insured population was type 2 diabetes, followed by hypertension and renal disease. All these, I know, can land you in the hospital. Hospitals — under the ACA — could deal with uninsured sick people by having them declared 'presumptive Medicaid-eligible,' meaning the government would pick up a portion of the cost. Under the Republican’s Senate bill, those powers would be revoked. I also know that in 2009 the American Journal of Public Health published a Harvard study showing that 45,000 of United States citizens die each year from not being able to afford medical care. Those without insurance had a 40 percent higher risk of dying than those who were insured." http://www.independent.com/news/2017/jun/29/tanning-salons-and-four-hour-erections/
A May 16 Santa Maria Times editorial states "Medi-Cal, this state’s name for Medicaid, covers one in four residents of Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo counties. Nationwide, Medicaid has more than 90 million enrollees. What used to be medical coverage for the very poor has morphed into stop-gap coverage for what essentially is the middle class in America. What this should tell members of Congress is that stripping away funding for Medicaid could be catastrophic for tens of millions of Americans. Our hope is that the GOP majority in the Senate understands the problem, and makes sure that its version of a new health care bill takes into account the needs of so many constituents."
http://santamariatimes.com/news/opinion/editorial/inching-toward-recovery/article_b66a8dfd-ed85-5159-8ef7-65a7aee87405.html
A May 13 Santa Ynez Valley News story reported on remarks from Bob Freeman, head of CenCal (which provides health care access to one in four residents of Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo counties) at the North Santa Barbara County Economic Summit (part of the UCSB Economic Forecast Project). "All bets are off" if the ACA is repealed because its Medi-Cal expansion reached so many people. One of every two babies born in California uses Medi-Cal, he said, and 80% of the Medi-Cal population have jobs.
http://syvnews.com/news/local/health-care-focus-of-north-county-economic-summit/article_2bfcef0b-904a-5e32-a2b5-8ef22bc5e27f.html
A May 7 Noozhawk story discusses the potential impact of the American Health Care Act, noting that we have seen a 68% caseload increase locally in Medi-Cal. https://www.noozhawk.com/article/house_passage_american_health_care_act_change_landscape
An Independent story from 3/15/17 reports on the testimony at a town hall on the subject.
http://www.independent.com/news/2017/mar/16/sb-health-care-experts-deliver-grim-trumpcare-news/
A Noozhawk story from 2/9/17 notes "Obamacare has insured one out of 10 Santa Barbara County residents and rescued a dozen struggling clinics. Now what?" It continues "A repeal of the Affordable Care Act could jeopardize up to $140 million per year in Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo counties. Nearly one in three Santa Barbara County residents (and more than one in three statewide) are now enrolled in Medi-Cal, getting free or low-cost care...As of Jan. 31...about 55,000 residents, most of them single adults under 65...had enrolled in Medi-Cal under the ACA. About 30,000 of them qualified under an expansion of the program based on an increase in income eligibility caps. Santa Barbara County has seen a 68% increase in all Medi-Cal enrollment over pre-reform levels, wildly exceeding expectations, said Maria Gardner, deputy director of the county Department of Social Services. 'It’s just astronomical,' she said. 'I haven’t gone through anything as significant as this in my 23-year career. It’s been a busy three years. We’ve made a big dent in the uninsured in our county.'
https://www.noozhawk.com/article/medical_community_ponders_effects_affordable_care_act_repeal
Carpinteria Coastal View ran the same story verbatim on 2/15/17.
http://www.coastalview.com/news/health-care-jitters-life-after-obamacare/article_64b24aa2-f3d9-11e6-8777-f384d5932323.html
California Healthline linked to the Coastal View story on 2/17/17 with the headline "To an area where Medi-Cal exceeded expectations, what does repeal mean?" http://californiahealthline.org/morning-breakout/to-an-area-where-medi-cal-exceeded-expectations-what-does-repeal-mean/
The Lompoc Record picked up on the theme with a 2/16/17 editorial stating "An outright repeal of the ACA could put at risk as much as $140 million in a year in federal medical funding to California, money used to subsidize Medi-Cal, which is the coverage option used by a high percentage of this state’s poor and needy citizens. Santa Barbara County’s public health clinics — another refuge for the indigent and needy — will lose millions if ACA is erased without some kind of workable backup plan." http://lompocrecord.com/news/opinion/editorial/after-aca-comes-what-exactly/article_5aec6ff5-16f1-53cb-9356-28f22570a30d.html
The Independent ran a version of the story as well on 2/20/17 under the headline "post-Obamacare jitters." http://www.independent.com/news/2017/feb/20/post-obamacare-jitters/
Numerous other print and TV stories after the jump:
A Noozhawk story from 2/5/17 notes "Since the law took effect in 2014, the county saw an increase in the number of people with health insurance coverage and experienced a jump in demand for doctor visits. The number of patient visits rose dramatically at the Public Health's eight clinics, the largest provider of Medi-Cal health services. In 2013, county clinics treated about 30,000 patients per year, about 12,000 of whom were on Medi-Cal. That number went up to 35,000 in 2016, with the number on Medi-Cal skyrocketing to 23,000... About 70% of clinic patients are on Medi-Cal. The county estimates about 11,000 of its patients have coverage because of the ACA."
https://www.noozhawk.com/article/santa_barbara_county_affordable_care_act_changes_health_care_20170205
KEYT ran a story noting that people continue to sign up for coverage despite political uncertainty: http://www.keyt.com/news/residents-continue-to-register-for-healthcare-despite-obamacare-repeal-threats/273005821
KEYT ran a 2.5 minute story, "Possible healthcare reform concerns community." They interview doctors and patients of Santa Barbara Neighborhood Clinics.
http://www.keyt.com/news/santa-barbara-s-county/possible-healthcare-reform-concerns-community/250251809
What would repeal of the ACA mean locally, for Medi-Cal in particular? The Independent interviews area health care administrators to find out.
- "The $123 million question confronting Santa Barbara health-care administrators is whether President-elect Donald Trump is serious about repealing the Affordable Care Act (ACA) as he repeatedly pledged to do throughout his campaign. That’s how much extra Medi-Cal money is funneled in from the federal government to pay health-care costs for low-income Santa Barbara County residents annually because of expanded eligibility requirements written into the ACA. For San Luis Obispo County, the number is $70 million. In both counties combined, the ACA has provided Medi-Cal coverage for an additional 45,000 people. And that doesn’t count the 29,000 people who signed up for private insurance via the Covered California exchange."
CNN Money interviewed consumers about it...including one in Santa Barbara.
http://money.cnn.com/2016/11/11/news/economy/obamacare-losing/index.html
This article about Cottage mentions in passing that ACA has helped them get more people insured, particularly under Medi-Cal.
http://www.independent.com/news/2016/dec/08/homeless-issues-then-now/
The California Budget and Policy Center put out a fact sheet 11/29/16 that details the importance of Medi-Cal in our communities. CWDA plans to use it as a resource, as it outlines Medi-Cal enrollment by county, total county population and then Medi-Cal enrollees as a percentage of the county population. There’s data for all 58 counties. The stats are as of January 2016. http://calbudgetcenter.org/wp-content/uploads/Fact-Sheet-Medi-Cal-Millions-Across-California-Faces-Uncertain-Future-11.29.2016.pdf
KCBX reports that local enrollment in Covered California continues to grow, and over 90% of those insured under Covered California in Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo counties receive monthly premium subsidies. Covered California will remain intact through 2017, and the financial assistance available will remain in place for 2017.
http://kcbx.org/post/covered-ca-keeps-growing-despite-uncertain-future-affordable-care-act
Similar story in the Ventura County Star.
http://www.vcstar.com/story/news/local/2016/12/14/obamacare-numbers-rise-despite-trumps-plan/95403156/
