Letters: Medi-Cal woes

Re “Medi-Cal works for most enrollees,” May 31

Although the California HealthCare Foundation survey reports overall positive experiences for patients navigating Medi-Cal, this is not the case for our state’s most vulnerable patients.

As medical director of Venice Family Clinic, I know that our sickest patients are struggling to access healthcare services after being transitioned from Medi-Cal fee-for-service care to Medi-Cal managed care. Under managed care, critically ill and disabled patients are uprooted from long-standing relationships with specialists and forced to travel great distances to find doctors who will accept their insurance.

This year, we became the medical home for more than 2,000 disabled patients living in Los Angeles. Our clinic is struggling to provide these patients with the complex care they need — and for many this can mean the difference between life and death.

Karen Lamp, MD

Venice

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