California Governor Gavin Newsom has suggested using federal healthcare resources to offer at least six months of rent help to the state’s large and expanding homeless population.
Gov. Newsom has recently lobbied V.P. Biden to approve “transitional rent,” California’s version of Medi-Cal. According to the Los Angeles Times, the program was inspired by federally sanctioned initiatives in Oregon and Arizona that assist low-income residents who rely on the state’s healthcare system with up to six months of rent or temporary housing.
The governor has reportedly spoken with the president, as Newsom told KHN. We need to solve this problem jointly.
Temporarily covering the cost of rent for the homeless, as Newsom and proponents of the aid have proposed, is said to save Californians money in the long term by reducing the need for costly institutional care, such as that provided in hospitals, nursing homes, and prisons.
When asked by The Times whether or not the federal government would accept the request, Bruce Alexander, a spokesperson for the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, declined to comment.
Medicaid monies cannot be used for home development or rental payments, as stated by the National Academy of State Health Policy. Yet, it may be used to support initiatives that assist people to get and keep affordable housing.
The Times reports that CalAIM, a federally funded program that helps low-income patients with apartment security deposits when they are homeless or at risk of eviction, has completely transformed Medi-Cal in California.
The Public Policy Institute of California reports that, for over a decade, the state’s homeless population has grown at double the pace of the rest of the country.
The think tank estimated that of the 233,832 homeless people in the United States, 30 percent life in California, based on the inaccurate federal “Point in Time” census of the homeless population conducted last year. Yet, Newsom admitted that the actual number in the state is much higher than the official total revealed.
Researchers at the institution asserted that only 5% of Medi-Cal patients pay for 44% of program expenses, based on data from the state. Homeless people have a higher likelihood of utilizing state health program funds to cover emergency room visits.
“about 143,000 people experiencing homelessness in 2019 were treated in California EDs,” the study’s authors write, using information from hospital discharge records. Over half of the homeless patients visited the emergency department four or more times within a year.
While Newsom has recognized the need to address the state of California’s affordable housing crisis, insurers are concerned that merging the two budgets would not result in savings for the state.
According to Dr. Margot Kushel, director of the Center for Vulnerable at the University of California, San Francisco, “without sufficient housing, honestly, it’s not going to work,” while discussing Medicaid strategies to reduce homelessness.
With the Biden administration’s blessing, homeless people in California who fulfill the program’s qualifying standards may get rent payments as early as 2025, at a cost to the state of around $117 million annually.
According to The Times, 11,000 people have enrolled in Medi-housing California.