Medi-Cal is mainly a Medicaid program in California. It’s one kind of health insurance program which works with the general public in order to provide free or low-cost medical services for children and adults.It works with limited income and resources. Our lesson will help you to learn more about the Medi-Cal process.
Medi-Cal is not suitable for all. It has some eligibilities. Mainly the eligibilities are based on someone’s income and sometimes on his countable property. A larger group of Californians has expanded offer coverage in January 2014. There is a Covered California Income GuidelinesChart which can be used by us to find out our eligibilities based on income. The chart allows pregnant women, children, and disabled persons to have a higher income on the Federal Poverty level scale and urges to apply.
Medical Card: Medical marijuana card is an identification card used by patients to enter medical dispensaries & buy the plant to treat their health problems.
Apply process
Applying for medical is not a difficult process in California.The government-supervised only four ways to apply for this. Again there isn’t any wrong door to apply for health coverage in California. The ways are:
- In-person
- By phone
- By mail
- Online
In person: There are many local country’s social services offices in California. The offices have their own assistant. One can visit the local social services office to complete his application. There the assistant will help him.
By email: Every local country social services office has their email. A single streamlined application provided in English or other languages can be applied for medical via email. A completed and signed application is needed to send to their email address.
By phone: E-mail might be a difficult process for some persons. The illiterate people don’t understand the process of e-mail.So they can apply for it over the phone instead of by e-mail. For this, they can call their local country’s social services office.
Online: There is a verified website named WWW.CoveredCA.com. Anyone can apply throughout this website.This website surely transfers the applications to their local country’s social office directly.It started from when the country level provides medical.Again anyone might have additional questions or might need additional help.Then they can contact with a trained certified enrollment counsellor.This is totally about cost-free.
Eligibility verification
The process takes longer than normal due to the high volume of new applications.It takes 45 days normally to complete the process. When the authority receives the completed application the process for verifying medical eligibility is started. Then we receive a benefits identification card. Here some of the general process for verification
- Apply:First of all it needs to complete the application.Then submit it by email by phone by online either in person.
- A notification of likely eligibility is received by mail.
- Then we need paper verification of income citizenship and electronically. So we might be contacted by our countries, social services or fees to request for the papers.
- A final notice of action will notify us that when and where we can receive medical.
- We will be able to use the many medical benefits available after receiving the BIC in the mail.
Enrol in a plan
Now we are covered under fee for service after qualifying the first medi-cal and receiving our BIC.The authority will mail us with the information explaining our health within 45 days of receiving BIC.However a health plan must be chosen by us within 30 days of receiving our health plan information mailer.Otherwise medi-cal will choose a plan for us and we have to follow that.The health plan varies country by country.Now we have to go to the medical management care health plan directory so that we can find out our country.Sometimes one can see that only one health plan is listed.That means the country has chosen this plan for him.Then he waits for the plan information in the mail.Again We may see multiple health plans listed.Then our first duty is to explore each plan and select the one which switsus and our family’s needs.But this is mustto choose a plan for us within 30 days.
Benefits
A set of health benefits like doctor visits, hospital care,immunization, pregnancy related services and nursing bone care are provided currently by medical.All the medical health plans offer are insured by the affordable care act.This is known as essential health benefits.We get the following benefits:
- Ambulatory services
- Emergency services
- New-born care
- Prescription drugs
- Physical therapy
- Hospitalisation
- Laboratory services
- Chronic diseases management
- Oral care
- Vision care.
Besides mental health services are available through me
di-call managed care plans. Such as-
- Mental health evaluation
- Clinically indicated psychological test
- Psychiatric consultation
- Outpatient Service
- Residential treatment service
- Narcotic treatment service
Bottom line: Medi-Cal covers many services. It is so helpful to the patients especially for the patients of lower-income.
