LOS ANGELES, Calif. — Covered California, the California
Medical Association and leaders of 13 physician, pharmacist, hospital and health
care provider groups joined forces Tuesday at the Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical
Center to highlight health care being delivered as a result of the Patient
Protection and Affordable Care Act and to announce a new partnership promoting
health coverage offered during open enrollment.
“The voices of physicians and other health professionals
are very powerful in our campaign to ensure all Californians have health
insurance,” said Covered California Executive Director Peter V. Lee. “We are
very pleased to join with them today to promote the importance of coverage that
can mean patients can get the vital care they need.”
Lee appeared with leaders of the California Medical
Association and UCLA Health System, as well as physicians who shared stories of
life-changing health care they have provided to patients who obtained health
coverage as a result of the Affordable Care Act.
“We physicians
serving the needs of California’s vulnerable populations know how the lack of
coverage for medical care can impede access, often with avoidably tragic
consequences. Covered California is an important step in the direction of
filling this need,” said Dr. Luther Cobb, California Medical Association
president. “We’re proud to join with Covered California to raise awareness
about open enrollment in physicians’ offices, through social media and in communities across the state to encourage all
Californians to get the health coverage they need.”
The California Medical Association is one of 14 statewide
health provider organizations that have begun sending letters to their members along with resource materials encouraging them to promote
open enrollment and to display an “I’m In” placard so that patients, prospective patients and family members will know that
the providers accept insurance plan products offered through Covered
California.
The letter is online at www.CoveredCA.com/news/PDFs/Joint-Letter.pdf.
The resource materials included with the letter are
available online at www.CoveredCA.com/news/PDFs/2_County_Listing_of_carriers.pdf,
www.CoveredCA.com/news/PDFs/Covered_California_Insurer_Contacts.pdf,
www.CoveredCA.com/news/PDFs/office_placard.pdf
and www.CoveredCA.com/news/PDFs/open_enrollment_one_sheet.pdf.
Across the participating groups, more than 100,000 physicians,
pharmacists and physician assistants, as well as more than 400 hospitals,
health systems and medical groups, will receive these materials to get the word
out and leave no Californian behind during this year’s open-enrollment period, Nov.
15, 2014, to Feb. 15, 2015.
“This is the largest effort of
its kind in the nation to partner with leading physician organizations to
promote enrollment,” Lee said.
Dr. David T. Feinberg, president of UCLA Health System and CEO of the
UCLA Hospital System, opened the event announcing these activities and
used the opportunity to highlight the many patients with Covered California
health insurance who have been accessing vital services through physicians and
facilities in the UCLA Health System.
“In the last year, we have provided critically important
health care to thousands of patients who have health insurance through Covered
California,” Feinberg said. “We have seen lives saved and transformed as a
result of the health care delivered here — all because of new insurance
available through Covered California and as a result of the coverage expansion
of the Affordable Care Act. We’re pleased to help spread the word today about
the vital importance of getting health insurance.”
For more information about the care provided at UCLA to
patients with health insurance through Covered California, see “OneHospital’s Story — Delivering on the Promise of Care” online at www.CoveredCA.com/news/PDFs/story-of-one-hospital.pdf.
“Ronald Reagan Medical Center is one of the 403 hospitals
across California — representing 87 percent of all of California’s acute care
hospitals — that are delivering on the promise of care,” Lee said. “Any
Californian who does not have health insurance should take steps to purchase
coverage before Feb. 15 so they will have access to medical care that can
improve or even save their life.”
Joining in the effort with Covered California and the California
Medical Association are leaders of the California Academy of Family Physicians,
the National Medical Association, the National Council of Asian Pacific
Islander Physicians, the California Latino Medical Association, the National
Hispanic Medical Association, the American Academy of Pediatrics (California), the
American College of Physicians (California chapter), the Osteopathic Physicians
and Surgeons of California, the California Academy of Physician Assistants, the
California Pharmacists Association, the California Society of Health-System
Pharmacists, the California Association of Physician Groups and the California
Hospital Association.
The UCLA Health System will be among the first to promote
the Covered California “I’m In” message in medical offices to foster
enrollment by getting the word out, through its 152 outpatient sites in Los
Angeles, Orange and Ventura counties.
Californians who need health insurance should explore their
options by visiting CoveredCA.com. They
can apply online or seek help from more than 28,000 Certified Insurance Agents,
Certified Enrollment Counselors and county eligibility workers who stand ready
to help them enroll confidentially and at no cost.
Lee said that plans offered through Covered California
provide good access to the care consumers need from physicians throughout California.
“We want consumers to know there is broad access to
physicians and hospitals across the plans offered by the exchange,” Lee said.
“More than 61,000 unique physicians are available — or more than 75 percent of
all licensed, active non-hospital physicians.”
Covered California plans also include access to 403 acute
care hospitals, or 87 percent of such facilities in California. Covered
California plans include all of the University of California’s hospitals and all
member hospitals of the California Children’s Hospital Association. See “Who’s In CoveredCalifornia” online at www.CoveredCA.com/news/PDFs/who-is-in.pdf
for more information.
“Today’s stories about care being delivered at one of the
nation’s premiere health centers is further proof that getting coverage can get
Californians access to the very best care,” Lee said.
“While the Affordable Care Act is historic and a huge expansion of
coverage, there remain more than 3.2 million uninsured
Californians eligible for insurance,” Lee said. “This year, the open-enrollment
period will be shorter, so it’s important to spread the word quickly to
uninsured people eligible for coverage about this potentially life-saving
opportunity.”
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. 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 about Covered California, please visit www.CoveredCA.com.
