By Tracy Seipel for The San Jose Mercury News
Julie Moreno felt lucky to be among more than 2.7 million previously uninsured Californians to be added to Medi-Cal, the state’s health care program for the poor.
Until she needed cataract surgery.
For three months after her November 2013 diagnosis, the 49-year-old Mountain View resident said, she tried to get an appointment, but each time she called, no slots were available. Desperate and worried, she finally borrowed $14,000 from her boyfriend’s mother to have the procedure done elsewhere last February.
One year into the explosive, health law-induced growth of Medi-Cal, it appears one of the most alarming predictions of critics is coming true: The supply of doctors hasn’t kept up with demand. One recent study suggests the number of primary care doctors in California per Medi-Cal patient is woefully below federal guidelines.
“If you’re pregnant, you get help,” Moreno said. “But if you’re 49 and not pregnant, you have to wait for everything.”
In fact, seven months after Moreno’s surgery, her original surgeon’s office called just to say they still couldn’t fit her in.
