My cousin in SoCal recently got on permanent disability last year. So he signed up for MediCal with Kaiser (his last provider), but now it’s 2025, he doesn’t seem to know if he needs to apply each new year.
Tried checking online, but SEO has made it impossible to find out easily. I just don’t want him missing out on enrollment if he needs to do it manually each year.
TIA to anyone who might know the logistics and how the system works. His mom seem is retired and seems 100% sure since he was put on MediCal in mid 2024, it automatically carries over and stays Kaiser. I just don’t want him missing out since he has seizures and his medication cost is high.
Afaik, and you can’t use crowd sourced info like this as some kind of realistic guide, it should be handled by his case worker. I’m not very familiar with cali state stuff, only what I’ve picked up talking to online support groups. But, iirc, he should get something in the mail every year telling him what, if anything, he needs to do.
My yearly letter is just a “you all set” kind of thing, but I’m east coast, so it isn’t a guarantee of anything for his state.
Best bet is to contact his case worker and ask. If he doesn’t know who that is, contact the local dss office and they’ll be able to help to some degree or another.
Appreciate the detailed response, and I figured as much I just was praying someone might prove me wrong. Either way, I’ll head over tomorrow and try helping him check it out.
As for the all set letter, is it a yearly automated reminder you’re good to go?
Yeah, it’s printed out en masse. Everyone in my disability support group gets one. It basically says something along the lines of the case having been evaluated, and benefits will continue.
Oh a support group sounds great actually, my cousin really needs something like this.
It really is a great thing. Not just for the advice, or even having people that understand intimately what you’re going though. It’s also having a space where you don’t have to pretend.
Check around. We’re up here in the Appalachians, in a rural area, so our group is essentially a tri-county thing because there’s just not enough people to maintain a group in a single county. So if someone is looking for a group, it helps to not only check for their town or county, but nearby places too.
They have never kicked me and I haven’t had to reapply, but I don’t get an actual doctor and have some idiotic plan with walk in clinics.
Well that’s sorta good news, I really hope it’s the same when you’ve chosen a provider like Kaiser.
He’s been a little unstable the last few years but is coming back around, and I don’t want him having to deal with any unseen stresses.
So in my limited experience, you just had to submit continuing eligibility reports that were due every June IIRC. I was actually on Kaiser myself, and your provider doesn’t change unless you change it.
I was on it for financial reasons for a while pre-COVID, so my memory is fuzzy and it may have changed. I could look through the DHCS website to confirm, but hopefully this helps.
EDIT: Here’s the official website, which isn’t necessarily detailed yet seems to confirm what I said. They generally try to make it easy to stay on Medi-Cal if you need it. Also, here’s a page linking to a bunch of general Medi-Cal info. I know that it can be daunting navigating the government websites, but they’re generally the best places to find information.
I appreciate you looking, feels like I can’t find anything on this lol. They really need to make it feel a little less like reading a contract.
