The California Medical Association (CMA) is partnering with several organizations throughout the state to collect providers' stories that demonstrate Medi-Cal network inadequacy and hindered access to continuous, quality care for Medi-Cal beneficiaries. Collecting as many stories as possible is essential for mobilizing effective advocacy efforts around access and payment reform with Medi-Cal managed care health plans and the Department of Health Care Services (DHCS).

More than a million new beneficiaries have enrolled in Medi-Cal since January 1, 2014, yet impending cuts threaten to make Medi-Cal the lowest-paying Medicaid program in the country. Physicians across the state tell us they simply cannot afford to see these new beneficiaries.

This year, two CMA-sponsored bills have been introduced to address the problems in Medi-Cal:

• AB 1805 (Skinner) will reverse the 10 percent Medi-Cal provider payment cut adopted in June 2011 and implemented late last year. It will help to ensure that needed access to specialty care is available for Medi-Cal beneficiaries.
• AB 1759 (Pan) will extend through 2015 and beyond the Affordable Care Act provision that increases primary care physician Medi-Cal payments to Medicare levels, which is set to expire at this year. This bill also will create an annual independent assessment of Medi-Cal provider payment rates and their impact on access and quality of care for patients in the Medi-Cal program.

Please tell your story by filling out this Medi-Cal Access Reporting Survey.

Thank you in advance for your participation. With your responses, we can bring about the changes we need to ensure all Californians have access to quality health care.

Contact: California Academy of Family Physicians, (415) 345-8667 or anarayanan@familydocs.org.