Enrollment Data to Be Restored; Consumers Who Partially Completed
or Updated Applications Need to Resubmit Information
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Covered California™ is currently restoring data from
applications completed during a software malfunction occurring Feb. 17 through
Feb. 19. Covered California is also calling on consumers who started or
updated incomplete applications during this period to resubmit their information.
Covered California will reach out to consumers as needed if they enrolled in a Covered California health insurance plan, partially completed an application or submitted updates during this timeframe to advise them of the status of their application and offer them assistance. No personal data were compromised during the software problem or the outage.
The software error resulted in Covered California taking
its online enrollment portal offline for several days. Online enrollment is now
fully operational. However, some data submitted by consumers during the
affected time frame need to be recovered and checked for accuracy.
“We regret any inconvenience this has caused,”
said Covered California Executive Director Peter V. Lee. “Our enrollment
website has been up and running this week, and we look forward to helping
consumers get the health coverage they want and deserve.”
Consumers and their Certified Enrollment
Counselors or Certified Insurance Agents who submitted information between Feb.
17 and Feb. 19 have options available to them, depending on whether they
completed the online enrollment process, started an application or made updates
to existing applications. Specific steps for consumers are outlined in the related fact sheet “Understanding Implications of Covered California DataRecovery,” which will provide information for consumers, county eligibility workers,
Certified Insurance Agents and Certified Enrollment Counselors.
During the process of data recovery, information submitted
between Feb. 17 and Feb. 19 may not be viewable. This includes completed
applications, plan selections, partially completed applications and updates to
existing applications.
About 6,500 consumers who completed their applications and
selected plans are affected, but no action by these consumers is needed. Their applications
and plan selections are being processed by the health insurance plans selected,
and the information will be fully restored by Covered California. These
consumers must make their payment by their health insurance plan’s deadline for
April 1 coverage.
Another 14,500 consumers who partially completed their
applications or submitted updates to existing applications within the time frame
are affected. These consumers should either start a new application or resubmit
any updates they made to an existing application. These consumers will be
contacted by Covered California staff to restore their information and to
complete their enrollment by March 15 for April 1 coverage.
An additional 16,000 consumers completed their applications
and were determined to be likely eligible for Medi-Cal. Their applications are
being processed by the county in which they are eligible, and that information is
being fully restored by Covered California. Consumers’ applications may not be
visible on CoveredCA.com until the restoration is complete. There is no action
needed from these consumers, but if they have questions they should call their
county human services agency.
The affected consumers visited Covered California’s online
enrollment website between 1 a.m. Monday, Feb. 17, and 1:30 p.m. Wednesday,
Feb. 19. Consumers — including those qualifying for Medi-Cal coverage — who
have completed an application or updated information prior to or after that
isolated time frame are not affected. Paper applications were not affected by
the online enrollment malfunctions.
The enrollment portal was offline from 1:30 p.m. Wednesday,
Feb. 19, to about 4 a.m. Monday, Feb. 24, for repairs. Covered California
technical engineers found the cause of the system issues to be a software
malfunction during a planned maintenance outage the prior weekend.
Covered California’s Service Center
representatives can assist consumers, and free and confidential local
enrollment assistance is available. To find assistance near you, visit www.CoveredCA.com and select “Find Local Help.”
About Covered California
Covered California is the state’s marketplace for the
federal Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. Covered California, in
partnership with the California Department of Health Care Services, 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 helps individuals determine whether they
are eligible for premium assistance that is 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 can
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.
About the Department of Health Care Services
The Department of Health Care Services (DHCS) works to
preserve and improve the physical and mental health of all Californians. DHCS
provides health care services for approximately 9.4 million Californians
through Medi-Cal, including medical, dental, mental health, substance use
treatment services and long-term services and supports. This is accomplished
through an investment of approximately $70 billion annually in public funds for
the care of low-income families, children, pregnant women, seniors and persons
with disabilities. DHCS focuses on delivering quality, effective services
primarily through coordinated systems of care provided by 21 Medi-Cal managed
care plans located in all of California’s 58 counties. For more information
about DHCS, please visit www.dhcs.ca.gov.
