Medi-Cal health insurance premiums paid to managed care health plans or Health Maintenance Organizations (HMOs) is a sizeable sum of money. The California Department of Health Care Services estimates the average monthly cost for each Medi-Cal beneficiary is $611. Expanded Medicaid, where families earning less than 138% of the federal poverty line are automatically enrolled in Medi-Cal through Covered California, encompasses a population who is often healthier and use fewer health care services than beneficiaries who qualified under the original Medi-Cal rules.
