A Capital Public Radio analysis of data from the California Department of Managed Health Care found that the number of contested denials handled by the department has nearly tripled over the past five years — from roughly 1,500 in 2012 to more than 4,200 in 2016.

The department said the increase is because of a jump in the number of insured Californians during that time; the state’s uninsured rate has steadily declined since the Affordable Care Act rollout in 2014.  But enrollment in department plans only increased 38 percent during the five-year window, while the number of cases about denials jumped 175 percent.

Capital Public Radio's health reporter Sammy Caiola looked into why insurance denials are on the rise and how it's affecting families with long term care needs.