Thousands of elderly Californians could lose the only care that lets them stay out of a nursing home. Health Net, one of the country's largest Medicaid insurers, decided to end its assisted living and home care contracts for low-income seniors on Medi-Cal — an estimated 3,500 of whom rely on the company to cover this care. Most are elderly, and many have dementia or other cognitive conditions. Families and care providers say they got little to no warning before the cutoff was set to take effect.

State regulators stepped in after finding Health Net failed to submit transition plans, failed to move members to other appropriate care, and denied services outright — violations that "jeopardize member safety, disrupt continuity of care, and endanger medically vulnerable members," according to the Department of Health Care Services' corrective action letter. Health Net has agreed to extend coverage through the end of this year. But that only delays the deadline: without a permanent fix, thousands of seniors could still lose this benefit on January 1.

"Thousands of older Californians are still set to lose their housing on January 1st," said Hagar Dickman, director of long-term services and supports at Justice in Aging. Switching insurers offers no guarantee either — continuity of care protections don't carry over, so a new plan could deny the very same coverage. As Pauline Shatara of California Advocates for Nursing Home Reform put it, "It's disingenuous to say there are protections and then say the protections don't apply."

No senior should have to choose between a nursing home and losing their home because an insurance company changed its mind. Health Net and the California Department of Health Care Services must guarantee a permanent, individualized transition plan for every affected member before this benefit disappears for good.

Sign this petition to demand Health Net protect assisted living coverage for California's most vulnerable seniors — before January 1 costs thousands of families their homes.