Insurance Coverage is One Thing. Accessing that Care is Another.
Meet Nikki, who was referred to Young & Healthy by South Pasadena High School early this spring. Nikki is an 18-year-old foster youth who had a bad case of hives on the day she was referred. At the time, Nikki had full scope MediCal coverage….in San Bernardino County. Unfortunately, coverage in San Bernardino County is not helpful when a person is living in Los Angeles County and needs to access healthcare. Young & Healthy offered to assist with getting Nikki’s MediCal coverage transferred to Los Angeles County, but her family was already working with a social worker to get this done. In any case, this process takes time.
In the meantime, Nikki needed immediate help with her hive situation, so our case management team set her up with an appointment to see a doctor right away. Follow-up reports from the doctor suggested that Nikki had pelvic pain and needed to see a Gynecologist and that she could also benefit from seeing a Psychiatrist. Nikki already had a Psychiatrist coming to her home to lend assistance, but Young & Healthy was able to get Nikki an appointment to see a Gynecologist. After a pelvic ultrasound and physician visit, Nikki turned out to be just fine.
Now Nikki officially has MediCal insurance through Los Angeles County and is able to access care using that coverage. But what would have happened if she had not had Young & Healthy’s help in the interim? Nikki is not alone in her situation. It is not necessarily unusual for foster youth to need to wait for a change in insurance coverage when they move to a new county. Young & Healthy remains available to help these individuals so that they may obtain the care that they need.
