Health-care program expands coverage for locals

More people in Del Norte County will now be able to sign up for the County Medical Services Program.

About 1,000 Del Norte residents have health care coverage under CMSP. A new program Path2Health that started Monday will provide another 200 adults with no-cost coverage, according to the CMSP Governing Board based in Sacramento.

This expansion in medical coverage is made possible by federal funding to help usher in new health care reform requirements set to start January 2014.

Path2Health is open to adults 19–64 years old, who earn at or below 100 percent of the federal poverty level — about  $10,980 annually for a single person — do not qualify for Medi-Cal and are U.S. citizens.

Medi-Cal provides medical coverage for Californians that meet certain criteria, such as being enrolled in CalWorks, In-Home Support Services, are under 21 years old, pregnant or disabled.

Path2Health will provide coverage like CMSP, including primary care, emergency and hospital care, pharmacy services, limited dental and vision care and a set number of mental health and substance abuse counseling visits.

To enroll in Path2Health, visit the county Department of Health and Human Services at 880 Northcrest Dr., call 464-3191 or go to mypath2health.org to apply online.

The CMSP Governing Board will be expanding coverage to  30,000 uninsured, low-income adults in 34 rural counties beginning under Path2Health starting the first of the year.

A federal $10 billion “Bridge to Reform” waiver is paying for the new medical coverage. This funding is being provided to California to prepare for new federal health care reform requirements starting January 2014, said Lee Kemper, the executive director of the CMSP Governing Board.

Starting in 2014, to be eligible for Medi-Cal people must be 19–64 with income up to 133 percent of the federal poverty level — $14,400 for a single person.

The CMSP Governing Board determined there was enough money for counties to expand enrollment right now by setting the income threshold at 100 percent of the poverty level, Kemper said.

“We can make the handoff,” he said.

The Governing Board operates CMSP for 34 counties in California, including Del Norte.

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