California's Coverage Expansion
Initiatives
Through two consecutive federal
waivers, California established programs that sought new and innovative ways to
expand health care coverage to eligible low-income, uninsured individuals not
otherwise covered by Medi-Cal. From 2007-2014, the UCLA Center for Health
Policy Research worked with the State of California Department of Health Care
Services to evaluate the implementation and impact of two demonstration
programs:
California's Health Care
Coverage Initiative (HCCI) program extended health care coverage to more than
230,000 low-income uninsured adults who were not otherwise eligible for public
programs such as Medi-Cal. Ten counties participated in the HCCI program: Alameda,
Contra Costa, Kern, Los Angeles, Orange, San Diego, San Francisco, San Mateo,
Santa Clara, and Ventura. The program was later expanded to all California
counties as part of the Low-Income Health Program (LIHP).
The Low-Income Health Program (LIHP) ― also known as
California’s “Bridge to Reform” -- was a county-based program that offered
health care coverage to low-income adults in the years immediately preceding
the implementation of health care reform. The goal of LIHP was to shift
low-income uninsured individuals from more costly episodic care to a more
coordinated system of care, thereby improving access to care, quality of care,
and overall health. Nearly 500,000 Californians ultimately participated in
LIHP.
The Center maintained a website
and a blog to inform HCCI and LIHP participants on the latest program dashboards.
The website also provided a venue for participating counties to exchange
information, share lessons learned, and upload various required reports.