EDITORIAL : ^CLOSING THE MEDI-GAP@; ^GOVERNOR'S PLAN PROVIDES HOPE FOR CHILDREN OF THE WORKING POOR.@.PITY the people _ and especially the children _ who are caught in the middle of the health-care divide. We refer to those Californians who lack employer-paid health insurance benefits, can't afford to pay for private insurance _ but make too much money to qualify for assistance under the Medi-Cal Medi-Cal is the name of the Medicaid program in the State of California. It is jointly administered by the California State Department of Health Services and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), operating as a Medical Assistance Program under Title XIX of the program. Fortunately, help appears to be on the way for many of these members of the working poor. Gov. Pete Wilson For others named Pete Wilson, see . Peter Barton Wilson (born August 23, 1933) is an American Republican politician from California. Wilson served as the thirty-sixth Governor of California (1991–1999), the culmination of more than three decades in the public arena that announced Wednesday Wednesday: see week. in Glendale that more than a half million California California (kăl'ĭfôr`nyə), most populous state in the United States, located in the Far West; bordered by Oregon (N), Nevada and, across the Colorado River, Arizona (E), Mexico (S), and the Pacific Ocean (W). children would be eligible for health insurance under a plan to help the working poor. It would cover anyone under 19 whose family income is above the federal poverty index used to determine Medi-Cal eligibility, but, in the case of a family of three, no more than $26,660 a year. The $479 million program would be financed by federal block grants, state funds and modest premiums and co-payments by participating families. The federal funds Federal Funds Funds deposited to regional Federal Reserve Banks by commercial banks, including funds in excess of reserve requirements. Notes: These non-interest bearing deposits are lent out at the Fed funds rate to other banks unable to meet overnight reserve were made available by the balanced-budget act recently signed by President Clinton. The federal legislation gives states the option of expanding Medicaid Medicaid, national health insurance program in the United States for low-income persons; established in 1965 with passage of the Social Security Amendments and now run by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. _ known in California as Medi-Cal _ or designing new programs. The Wilson administration has opted for the latter approach by having private companies bid for a share of the business. We believe the Wilson administration made the right decision. The Medi-Cal program already is a first-class headache headache Pain in the upper portion of the head. Episodic tension headaches are the most common, usually causing mild to moderate pain on both sides. They result from sustained contraction of face and neck muscles, often due to fatigue, stress, or frustration. , and expanding it could create more problems, especially for counties that already are hard-pressed to meet their existing health-care workloads. Moreover, we fear that any expansion of Medi-Cal might become permanent and create more political pressure to further relax eligibility standards. That could be enormously expensive for the taxpayers in the long run. The devil, as usually is the case in dealing with health care, will be in the details. Organizing and monitoring the program (to make sure that the money is used properly) will be a major challenge. Nevertheless, the plan seems to represent a major step toward making health care more available for children whose needs otherwise might be ignored. We therefore urge all involved in Sacramento, be they Democrats or Republicans, to work together to make the program a success, rather than turn it into a political football. |
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