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How can I get public health insurance in California?

I am a healthy thirty year old male in Marin County, but I've been rejected for health insurance twice now due to a reconstruced knee. What can I do?

Public Comments

1. Apply to the MRMPS program through a local agent. You have to have been rejected by at least one private policy insurance company to be eligible. There's usually a waiting list of up to 6 months.
2. You can become an out-patient at the Marin Community Clinic (affiliated with Marin General) and pay per visit according to your income. There are three locations, Greenbrae, Novato and San Rafael. You may have a wait to see a doctor but they are all top Marin docs who volunteer some time at the clinic. California has a state managed risk insurance plan if you are not low income. Link below. If you are a very low income person, you may qualify for the CMSP program. Link below. A knee job does not constitute a disabiity so you dont qualify for Medi-Cal and your income must be under $928 a month for one person to get Medi-Cal. I dont see how your knee can be considered a pre-existing problem if it has been reconstructed and there is no further treatment required.
3. Public health insurance is called Medicaid, and in California, it's called Medi-Cal. You have to qualify, by being low income, with very few assets (including a car or retirement account or house). If you're looking for coverage through the high risk health pool, you can follow through the government link at www.healthcare.gov. Or, of course, you can contact a local broker, who can explain your options to you.
4. Because you live in California and you have been rejected, you are now eligible to get health insurance through the "preexisting condition plan" or the "managed risk medical insurance board". These are not cheap, but they do accept everyone living in California who has been rejected for other health insurance due to an existing medical condition. What you can do is to apply for the "preexisting condition plan" or the "managed risk medical insurance board". "Public health insurance" is the wrong term. "Public health insurance" means government-funded health insurance for someone who meets specific financial criteria, is over 65, is pregnant, or has kidney failure. You cannot get "public health insurance". You can get health insurance through "preexisting condition plan" or the "managed risk medical insurance board", but only if you do not ask for "public" health insurance.