#ObamaCare's Future? Medi-Cal Problems Get Worse (and Worse) as Dependency Continues to Grow

The situation never improves as these dependency programs expand. They always get worse, but the Democrats then lock-in the dependency coalition, so the problems not only never get fixed, there's no political incentive for them to be fixed in any case.

It's statist corruption at its worst, right here in the once Golden State.

At the Los Angeles Times, "Medi-Cal struggles to provide services to ever-growing clientele":

Alisha Gutierrez, whose email address refers to her as the "tooth fairy," has spent years connecting developmentally disabled patients with specialized dental care.

But when a Santa Rosa man needed a root canal on a troubled molar earlier this year, the closest dentist she could find willing to perform the procedure was in Bakersfield — a 10-hour round trip by car.

"I felt terrible," Gutierrez said. "They would have to choose to travel that far, or choose to extract the tooth."

The tooth was pulled, and the choice was a reminder for Gutierrez that many needy Californians are struggling to receive care through Medi-Cal, the state's version of Medicaid. Concerns about access to care have taken on a new urgency since Medi-Cal enrollment began to swell in the wake of President Obama's federal healthcare overhaul.

The program, the state's second-largest expense after schools, is expected to cover one in three Californians by next year.

But the current state budget continues a 10% cut in reimbursements to some healthcare providers, a lingering sore point for advocates, lobbyists and lawmakers who have pushed to reverse the reduction. Doctors say the reimbursements are too low, forcing them to limit the number of Medi-Cal patients they treat...

More.