Sacramento, CA - Covered California began its marketing campaign to reach Asian-language consumers statewide through airwaves, billboards, online channels and print media.
The push is designed to get information about the new health insurance marketplace to Asians in their specific languages, using a wide range of media. The effort will complement Covered California’s general advertising campaign that is already serving English-speaking Asian communities.
[additional ads can be seen here]
“California is a large and ethnically diverse state,” said Covered California Executive Director Peter Lee. “Reaching out to communities with culturally sensitive information delivered in their languages will be vital to our mission of expanding health care coverage in this state.”
Projections show that Asians make up 14 percent of Californians eligible for federal subsidies when signing up for health care coverage that begins Jan. 1, 2014. According to census data, half of Asians in Californian speak limited English, prompting a need to communicate with them in their individual languages.
Key markets for Asian-language advertising are Los Angeles, the San Francisco Bay Area, Sacramento, San Diego and Fresno.
Asian TV spots began last week in multiple languages, including Cantonese, Mandarin, Korean, Vietnamese, and Tagalog. While some radio stations began to run ads about the state health benefit exchange in various Asian languages on Oct. 1, a heightened campaign is now underway with additional radio spots in Khmer and Lao languages.
Covered California advertising in Asian languages will hit billboards and transit shelters in early November, along with posters in key community gathering places.
Chinese online ads have been in the market since September, but those efforts will be expanded to include Korean, Vietnamese, Filipino, Hmong, Lao and Khmer.
Print ads in Asian languages began earlier this month, in traditional and simplified Chinese, Korean, and Vietnamese. More print advertising is planned to begin in early November for Filipinos, including Tagalog, English or a combination.
To see the Asian language ads, please visit the news section of www.CoveredCA.com.
About Covered California
Covered California is the state’s marketplace for the federal Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. Covered California was charged with creating a new health insurance marketplace in which individuals and small businesses can get access to affordable health insurance plans. With coverage starting in 2014, Covered California will help individuals determine whether they are eligible for premium assistance that will be available on a sliding-scale basis to reduce insurance costs or whether they are eligible for low-cost or no-cost Medi-Cal. Consumers can then compare health insurance plans and choose the plan that works best for their health needs and budget. Small businesses will be able to purchase competitively priced health insurance plans and offer their employees the ability to choose from an array of plans and may qualify for federal tax credits.
Covered California is an independent part of the state government whose job is to make the new market work for California’s consumers. It is overseen by a five-member board appointed by the Governor and the Legislature. For more information on Covered California, please visit www.CoveredCA.com.
