Amid efforts by Republicans in Washington to end the current national healthcare system, in California, debate heats up over a single-payer healthcare plan that would make the state the first to establish the model.

McConnell added that the Senate would vote early next week on a plan, originally passed in 2015 and vetoed by President Barack Obama, which would repeal parts of the health bill.

“In a medical study, instead of having the opinion of a single doctor, you’ll get the opinion of a group of highly qualified doctors who can say, ‘This is good for people like you,’” Brawley said. The American Cancer Society has an information service to help patients find clinical trials that match their medical condition. This service is also available in Spanish.

(Español) Pero en un intento intimidatorio tal vez, el propio McConnell advirtió a sus colegas republicanos que si su proyecto no pasa en esta ocasión, no les va a quedar otra que trabajar con los demócratas del Congreso para mejorar el Obamacare.

(Español) También existe la preocupación de que la mayoría en riesgo son los ciudadanos más pobres y más vulnerables cuya cobertura de seguro médico podría ser debilitada por las reformas republicanas.

(Español) Por su parte, el plan de Indivisible implica bastante trabajo y fuerte; pero el peligro que se cierne sobre decenas de millones de derechohabientes lo justifica. Pacientes que por cierto muchos de ellos nunca habían tenido cobertura que velara por su salud, a pesar de trabajar y pagar impuestos toda una vida.

Saenz said that while boosting Medi-Cal provider rates is an essential part of improving access to care for Medi-Cal patients, it is not the entire solution. There are also systemic and administrative hurdles to overcome, he said. They include long application processing times and the challenge of ensuring that physicians and specialists have the capacity to see new patients, he said.

There is also a big question mark hanging over the whole Medi-Cal program, given efforts in Congress to cut Medicaid funding and roll back the program’s expansion under Obamacare. Saenz said that it is difficult at this point to assess how such changes would affect California’s ability to improve access and quality of care for its Medi-Cal population.

Ana B. Ibarra: aibarra@kff.org, @ab_ibarra