Ensuring a Strong Safety Net For the Remaining Uninsured

Executive Summary

Advocacy is needed to ensure that remaining uninsured Californians have access to their county safety net programs, and that those programs are strong and robust to meet the needs of residually uninsured residents. This issue brief from NHeLP and the Western Center on Law and Poverty will give an overview of the demographics of the remaining uninsured population in California, the legal requirements on California’s counties’ obligation to provide safety net care to the remaining uninsured, and the funding sources for that care. Advocates should use this issue brief as a tool to evaluate whether their county program complies with legal requirements, and also to identify areas where the county can go beyond the minimum requirements to create a strong and coordinated safety net that meets the needs of all residents.