Medi-Cal is definitely not my first choice, but I thought it would be a lot worse.

I'm used to private insurance but I just turned 26 and got kicked off that. I'm in grad school and hopefully will have a full time job next year that pays for better health insurance. For now, I'm on Medi-Cal and it's beaten my expectations.

Medi-Cal, California's Medicaid program, is a pain in the ass sometimes. Long wait times, staff can be really rude, and all these complaints people have are grounded in truth.

But these are games that you can win. If no appointments are available for three months, you can keep calling the office, eventually someone will cancel, and you will get an earlier slot.

As a 26-year-old in mostly good health, I can't complain too much about Medi-Cal. It serves my needs for now. But as I age and become more vulnerable to serious illnesses, I will 100% want better insurance with better providers.

I think what I like most is that every test/procedure within the same facility (the county hospital) is covered. Under my parents' plan, not every service was offered in the same facility, and sometimes you had to check with insurance to see what was covered and what wasn't. If they sent you out to get a specific test, you'd have to do some research first to see where your insurance would cover that test. Having Medi-Cal at the county hospital makes it easy.

If you can play the game and don't need urgent treatment, Medi-Cal will probably serve you well.

submitted by /u/Emerge_Silver
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