Thanks to Covered California, California now ranks among states recording the biggest drop in uninsured residents. That’s 4-point-7 percent from 2013 to 2014, according to the Census Bureau. Total local numbers were not available from Nevada County Health and Human Services Director Michael Heggarty. But he says, thanks to expanded eligibility under the Federal Health Care Reform Act, enrollment in MediCal has nearly doubled over the last couple of years. He says that means more people now have primary non-emergency care providers…

click to listen to Michael Heggarty

Heggarty says the higher enrollment numbers are also beneficial for local doctors, who get more reimbursements…

click to listen to Michael Heggarty

But there are still around 4-point-75 million eligible Californians lacking health care coverage. Young adults, ages 26 to 34, and immigrants are still the least likely to be insured. Children and older adults are the most covered, thanks to MediCal. The third open enrollment period for Covered California begins November 1st and runs through January 31st.