Protect Medi-Cal Funding, Access to Providers

Executive Summary

Senate Republicans’ effort to radically slash federal Medicaid funding would threaten the ability of California’s Medicaid program, Medi-Cal, to ensure robust health care providers’ participation in Medi-Cal writes Senior Attorney Abbi Coursolle in the ninth Issue Brief of a 12-part “Protect Medi-Cal Funding,” series. “In trying to make up for lost federal funding, California might seek to limit the providers participating in fee-for-service Medi-Cal in an attempt to conserve funds,” Coursolle notes. “California might also cut Medi-Cal plans narrowing their networks in response. Either way, with fewer providers participating in the program, enrollees in underserved areas, including rural areas, would be seriously harmed.”