SACRAMENTO, Calif. – Officials from Covered California, the
state’s health benefit exchange, were pleased with the U.S. Department of
Health and Human Services announcement this morning giving California
conditional approval to establish a health care marketplace.
“This is another significant step in California's long but
determined march toward better health at an affordable price," said
Covered California’s Board Chair Diana Dooley.
“California has been at the forefront of establishing a
health benefits marketplace that will serve millions of Californians,” said
Peter V. Lee, Executive Director of Covered California. “The approval tooperate
a state-based exchange indicates that we’re making good progress towards
providing California residents with quality health benefits at a fair price.”
The federal approval, conditional on Covered California
continuing to meet its regulatory and start-up benchmarks, reflects the progress
California has made in establishing the exchange and the confidence the federal
government has in Covered California’s ability to provide affordable, quality
coverage to Californians in 2014.
California is making steady progress towards its October
marketplace launch. Covered California has been actively working with
interested private health care plans to offer quality health benefit products online
for individuals and small businesses. Consumers can begin using the web portal
on October 1, 2013 to select the health plan that best meets their needs and
determine if they qualify for federal subsidies to offset the cost of their
premiums. In addition, consumers can determine if they’re eligible for other
public insurance programs.
Recognizing that purchasing insurance is an important and
sometimes complicated task, Covered California has been working to establish a
network of community-based assisters and a call center to help consumers with
questions to make enrollment easier. There are also plans to launch a
marketing, outreach and education effort to increase awareness for individuals
and businesses, with special attention to California’s diverse populations.
To see today’s announcement from the U.S. Department of
Health and Human Services, please visit http://www.hhs.gov/news/press/2013pres/01/20130103a.html
About Covered California
California was the first state to create a health benefit
exchange following the passage of federal health care reform. It is charged
with creating a new insurance marketplace in which individuals and small
businesses will be able to purchase competitively priced health plans using
federal tax subsidies and credits in October 2013, with coverage starting in
2014. Covered California is overseen by a five-member board appointed by the
Governor and Legislature; the California Health and Human Services Secretary
serves as an ex officio voting member and is its current Chair.
For more information on Covered California, please visit
www.healthexchange.ca.gov.
