SACRAMENTO — Assemblywoman Cottie Petrie-Norris (D-Laguna Beach) has introduced AB 526 which would authorize express lane enrollment from the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children (WIC) to Medi-Cal. Today, April 9, 2019, AB 526 passed the Assembly Health Committee 15-0.
WIC is a federally funded health and nutrition program to improve birth and health outcomes for low-income pregnant, postpartum and breastfeeding women and for infants and children under age 5. California’s WIC program has more than 120,000 young children, pregnant women, and mothers who need health insurance at a critical stage in their life and yet are not enrolled into Medi-Cal. In 2017, about 93,000 kids, including 54,000 WIC children and 39,000 WIC infants, and 13,000 WIC pregnant women did not have Medi-Cal, despite eligibility.
“Ensuring that vulnerable infants, children and pregnant women receive healthcare is the right thing to do. It’s also the smart thing to do—health care at this critical stage has been shown to improve outcomes and reduce long-term system costs,” stated Assemblymember Petrie-Norris. “AB 526 will allow California to work smarter and more efficiently in serving our most sensitive populations."
With the goal of expanding healthcare coverage, AB 526 will establish an expedited pathway for Medi-Cal enrollment based on existing information obtained through WIC. If a WIC applicant does not show Medi-Cal enrollment based on a query to the Medi-Cal database (MEDS), the applicant could initiate Express Lane Eligibility (ELE) enrollment for Medi-Cal using the WIC eligibility findings.
AB 526 is included in the Care4All California legislative priorities.
Comments from the Sponsors of AB 526:
“California has made significant progress toward ensuring all kids have health coverage with nearly 97% of kids covered. We know that kids who are covered are more likely to grow into healthy and productive adults. However, 202,000 children still remain uninsured, and the state must act to fulfill the promise of Health4All Kids. The effort by Assemblywoman Petrie-Norris in AB 526 is a smart investment to get us closer to guaranteed coverage, especially for young children and pregnant women where the important preventive care they can receive through Medi-Cal is critical to ensuring a healthy start.” –Ted Lempert, President of Children Now
"While federal efforts are trying to make it harder for families to get health coverage and other support services, California--more than ever -- needs to streamline enrollment so families can easily connect to the services available to them. This WIC to Medi-Cal pathway is a logical solution for pregnant women, newborns and young children have access to important health care as well as the nutrition services they need to lead healthy lives." – Mayra Alvarez, President of The Children’s Partnership
“Assembly Bill 526 will help get tens of thousands of eligible young children and pregnant women enrolled in health coverage at a critically important developmental stage of their lives. This simple, common sense step will move us closer to a California where every child has a healthy start in life, and we look forward to working with Assembly member Petrie-Norris to get it signed into law this year.” – Shimica Gaskins, Executive Director of Children’s Defense Fund—California
“At this point, it is well documented that prenatal services are far less accessible for uninsured women. In working to reduce the state’s preterm birth, infant, and maternal mortality rates, creative proposals such as AB 526 are absolutely essential. March of Dimes thanks Assemblymember Cottie Petrie-Norris for authoring this important measure which could potentially lead to nine thousand more women gaining access to critical health insurance coverage and prenatal services.” – Erric S. Garris, California Director of Advocacy and Government Affairs of March of Dimes