How a Health Care Safety Net for the Poor Became California’s Top Priority
Medi-Cal’s Rapid Expansion Is a Triumph—And an Opportunity
Welcome, Californians, to the era of Medi-Cal for All.
“Medicare for All,” the political dream of extending federal health program for the elderly and disabled to all Americans, still gets the headlines. But here in the nation’s most populous state, it is Medicaid—or Medi-Cal, as the federal health program for the poor is called in California—that comes closest to providing a universal safety net. Medi-Cal deserves more attention now because its no-or-low-cost health services provide a vital backstop in this time of pandemic and freefalling employment, and because it holds possibilities …
