Back to Annual Meeting Page		American Public Health Association 133rd Annual Meeting & Exposition December 10-14, 2005 Philadelphia, PA

Abstract #116304

Eriko Wada, MPP, Division of Community Health, Department of Family Medicine, Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California, 1000 S. Fremont Avenue, Building A-7, Room 7409, Alhambra, CA 91803, 626-457-4025, ewada@usc.edu and Michael R. Cousineau, DrPH, Department of Family Medicine, Division of Community Health, University of Southern California, Keck School of Medicine, 3716 South Hope Street, Suite 256, Los Angeles, CA 90007.

Context: Of the nearly 800,000 uninsured children in California, nearly two-thirds are eligible for public health insurance programs. Previous studies indicate that complicated application processes present considerable barriers to enrollment. In an effort to streamline the enrollment process, the Express Lane Eligibility (ELE) program was developed to identify and enroll eligible children by linking the National School Lunch Program with Medi-Cal.

Objective: To examine whether connecting with public assistance programs improves the identification and enrollment of eligible children into Medi-Cal.

Study Design: Cross-sectional Medi-Cal eligibility, application, and enrollment data at year one (four counties) and year two (six counties) for school children eligible for free lunch.

Main Outcome Measures: Rates of eligibility for, applications to, and enrollment in Medi-Cal.

Results: In year one, among children eligible for ELE, 48% were found to already be enrolled in Medi-Cal, 35% were ineligible for, or denied, Medi-Cal, 1% were still being processed, and 16% were enrolled into Medi-Cal. In year two, despite the addition of two counties and a general maturation of the program, rates of enrollment into Medi-Cal appear to be similar: 44% were already enrolled, 37% were ineligible or denied, 9% are still being processed, and 10% were enrolled.

Conclusion: While the ELE program alone does effectively identify and enroll some children into Medi-Cal, it does not appear to be an efficient process. Used in conjunction with other outreach and enrollment strategies, the ELE program may lead to broader, more comprehensive approaches to enrolling eligible children into public health insurance programs.

Learning Objectives: