African-American Communities Will
See Enhanced Efforts That Highlight the Affordability and Accessibility of
Quality Health Insurance
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Covered California officials kicked
off a new marketing and outreach campaign to increase African-American enrollments
in the state’s health coverage program. The campaign focuses on informing
African-Americans about the affordability of quality health insurance, and the exchange
will place particular emphasis on specific geographic areas across the state
where higher numbers of uninsured and subsidy-eligible African-Americans live,
work, play and pray.
Covered California is using a new data-driven approach to
target specific ZIP codes across the state, pinpointing where higher numbers of
uninsured and subsidy-eligible African-Americans live.
Research conducted by NORC at the University of Chicago in the
spring of 2015 revealed that while California’s African-Americans are aware of
Covered California, they lag behind other ethnicities when it comes to
awareness of the financial assistance that is available only through Covered
California and that helps consumers pay for their monthly insurance premiums.
Data can be found at www.CoveredCA.com/news/PDFs/AAEI-slides.pdf.
New data show that active enrollment among subsidy-eligible
African-Americans is at 2.4 percent while African-Americans constitute 5 percent
of the state’s subsidy-eligible population. The exchange’s focused efforts to
increase the enrollment percentage begins with the third open-enrollment period,
which runs from Nov. 1, 2015, through Jan. 31, 2016.
The campaign centers around establishing enrollment storefronts
at highly familiar and visible locations; conducting marketing and outreach
that is specific to African-American consumers; and engaging businesses,
schools, churches and community organizations. The exchange will encourage
uninsured Californians to stop coping with a lack of health coverage and
instead enroll in a health insurance plan through Covered California.
“Changing our state from a culture of coping to a culture
of coverage is a long-term proposition,” Covered California Executive Director Peter
V. Lee said. “We’ve made great progress in helping African-Americans gain the
coverage they need and deserve, but we recognize there is much more to be done to
prove to the remaining uninsured the value of having health coverage.”
Outreach materials will advise African-American consumers
that their health and well- being is worth insuring and that many Californians
are receiving thousands of dollars each year to help with the cost of health
insurance premiums — money that African-American consumers should not walk away
from.
Covered California is targeting specific areas in Los Angeles
and San Diego counties and the Inland Empire, where two-thirds of California’s 130,000
subsidy-eligible African-Americans reside, as well as targeting areas in
Northern California in parts of Alameda, Contra Costa, Solano and Sacramento counties.
Covered California will push enrollment through service
channels like storefronts in African-American communities where Certified Insurance
Agents and Certified Enrollment Counselors will be on hand to assist consumers.
With support from Covered California community partners, the agency will
sponsor education and outreach campaigns, with resources for pastors at church enrollment
events, informational materials for barbershops and hair salons, and
“enrollment block parties” in high-priority African-American neighborhoods.
In addition, enhanced social media and marketing campaigns will
be launched to reach African-Americans, and Covered California will have partnerships
with local schools, businesses and community-based organizations that serve
African-American communities.
“We’ll reach out to consumers where they live, work, pray
and play,” Lee said. “Covered
California will continue to focus on reaching the state’s diverse population
and enrolling consumers in all communities during its upcoming open-enrollment
period. We want to make sure we see the enrollment numbers in our African-American
communities rise.”
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.
