Marivel Castañeda, an outreach worker for Riverside County’s Department of Public Social Services, interviews Isabel Coronel, 77, during a Medi-Cal enrollment campaign event held at the TODEC Legal Center in Coachella Monday, April 2. Valley News/Courtesy photo
RIVERSIDE COUNTY – Thousands of Riverside County residents now qualify for health coverage through the statewide Medi-Cal program. A state law went into effect Sunday, May 1, that extends Medi-Cal eligibility to low-income Californians who are at least age 50 regardless of their immigration status.The expansion is expected to provide coverage to an additional 185,000 Californians, including at least 10,000 residents in Riverside County. Overall, nearly 1 million county residents rely on Medi-Cal for health, mental health and dental coverage.Social service and community leaders are lauding the expansion as an important step to ensuring that older, low-income adults can access preventative health, dental and behavioral health services. Previously, adults 50 and older without legal
