Santa Clara Family Health Plan (SCFHP) announced today that it has surpassed 250,000 members enrolled in its Medi-Cal, Cal MediConnect, and Healthy Kids programs, marking a significant transformation in health care for low-income residents of Santa Clara County.

“While this is a major milestone for SCFHP, it is most importantly a milestone for our community. A quarter of a million vulnerable children, adults, and seniors in Santa Clara County have access to comprehensive, quality health care that they can afford,” said Christine Tomcala, CEO of SCFHP. “I am especially proud of our dedicated staff and grateful for our committed providers, who work tirelessly to deliver the highest quality care and service to our members.”

This milestone comes at a pivotal time for the federal Medicare and Medicaid programs, which celebrated their 50th anniversary this summer. Medicare and Medicaid started as basic health coverage programs, and have evolved over the years to provide more Americans with improved access to comprehensive, quality and affordable health care. This progress continued with the implementation of the Affordable Care Act in 2014.

The Affordable Care Act extended Medi-Cal eligibility to low income adults without children. This change has enabled almost 70,000 newly eligible adults in Santa Clara County to get health coverage through SCFHP since the beginning of 2014. The positive effects of this ACA expansion in Medi-Cal eligibility have been felt strongly by the County’s safety net providers. Since January 2014, the number of uninsured patients utilizing services at Santa Clara Valley Medical Center has dropped by 86%, according to SCVMC’s June 2015 Financial and Operational Update.

“The drop in uninsured individuals in Santa Clara County is a testament to the success of the Affordable Care Act,” said Michele Lew, president and CEO of Asian Americans for Community Involvement and SCFHP board member. “As a safety net provider, AACI recognizes the vital role that SCFHP plays in ensuring affordable, quality health care locally, and we highly value our partnership with SCFHP in serving the most vulnerable in our community.”