Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

Program assistant Mayra Dittman (L) helps Juanita Gilbert get up to walk at the Lifelong Medical Marin Adult Day Health Care Center on February 10, 2011 in Novato, California.

Medi-Cal, California's version of Medicaid, already provides help to nearly 8 million residents. This week, the State Assembly is considering a bill which could add more than a million new people to Medi-Cal's rosters. In particular, this would include people at 158 percent of the poverty line, or $15,415 a year.

Despite uncertainty about the costs of expansion, a recent report from the nonpartisan Legislative Analyst's Office says the benefits of this plan far outweigh the costs. 

For more, we're joined by Shana Alex Lavarreda, Director of Health Insurance Studies at UCLA Center for Health Policy Research.