Newly insured residents of California report being quite happy with their health coverage, although some are still encountering obstacles to effectively using their insurance.
A study by the Kaiser Family Foundation said that 76 percent of California’s recently insured residents “report positive experiences with their current plan and say they are satisfied with their plan’s choice of primary care doctors (79 percent), hospitals (75 percent), and specialists (67 percent).”
That's a bit of a contrast with the results of a recent national study that found high levels of dissatisfaction among the newly insured. Maybe it's all that sunshine that makes the California coverage seem better.
Those with new coverage “are much less likely than they were in the baseline survey to report problems paying for medical bills in the past 12 months (23 percent now, compared to 45 percent in 2013) or difficulty affording health care (49 percent now, compared to 86 percent in 2013),” the report said.
And reports of having their health needs met by their insurance rose sharply, from 51 percent last year to 86 percent this time around. When asked whether they have a “usual source of care” for their medical needs, 76 percent said yes, compared to 60 percent in the earlier sampling.
There are still glitches in the Golden State for the newly insured, however. Access to care remains a bit of a problem, with 16 percent reporting that a doctor's office said the office wasn't accepting new patients. Another 28 percent said they had experienced an unusually long wait to see a clinician.
But overall, the report found, the experiences of these newly insured were positive. In total, 68 percent of the previously uninsured in the state have insurance, compared to 58 percent a year ago. And where were they finding coverage? Here's the breakdown:
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Medi-Cal (Medicaid): 34 percent
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An employer: 14 percent
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Covered California: 12 percent
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Other: 7 percent
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Dan Cook
Dan Cook is a journalist and communications consultant based in Portland, OR. During his journalism career he has been a reporter and editor for a variety of media companies, including American Lawyer Media, BusinessWeek, Newhouse Newspapers, Knight-Ridder, Time Inc., and Reuters. He specializes in health care and insurance related coverage for BenefitsPRO.
