Spotlight Tour Focused on the Need for All Californians to Enroll in Health Care Coverage
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Covered California’s open-enrollment period
is off to a strong start as its 38-stop, 2,000-mile bus tour prepares for a final
stop at the State Capitol. The bus tour began in San Diego and made stops along
the way in large cities and small communities throughout the state.
“The Covered California open-enrollment bus tour literally
covered California and spotlighted enrollment with stops in large cities, like
San Francisco and San Diego, and in small, rural towns, like Fortuna in
Humboldt County and Watsonville in Santa Cruz County,” Covered California
Executive Director Peter V. Lee said. “Our message of putting the spotlight on coverage
has spread all over the state with the help of hospitals, counties, community clinics,
agent storefronts and our Navigators. These partners are on the front lines
each day and see the true impact having affordable health care coverage means in
their communities.”
In the weeks ahead, Covered California will continue to
spotlight the fact that open enrollment continues through Jan. 31, but the
exchange is encouraging consumers to sign up before Dec. 15 to ensure they have
coverage beginning Jan. 1.
“We can’t stress enough that the sooner consumers sign up,
the sooner they have access to world-class facilities; high-quality doctors;
and real, affordable health care coverage. Enrolling by Dec. 15 guarantees them
the peace of mind of knowing they and their family won’t face financial strain
should something unforeseen happen,” said Lee.
During the tour, Covered California leadership heard
numerous stories not only from the exchange’s partners, but also from the
people they aim to help — people like David from Salinas and Kelly of El Cajon.
When David lost his job, his health insurance coverage was costing him $1,500 a
month. After signing up for coverage through Covered California, he now pays
less than $300 a month and is able to take good care of his diabetes. Kelly lost
her health insurance coverage prior to January 2014 and was in the middle of
receiving care after having spinal surgery the previous July. She was able to
keep her doctors at Scripps Mercy Hospital by enrolling in a plan through
Covered California.
Covered California is spotlighting enrollment because an
estimated 2.2 million uninsured Californians remain eligible to get help to
make their insurance affordable by enrolling in either Covered California or
Medi-Cal. An estimated 750,000 uninsured Californians could enroll through Covered
California.
“For the first time ever, the
national rate of the uninsured has dropped below 10 percent,” said Lee. “California’s uninsured rate is even lower, at 8.6 percent,
because California has used all the tools of the
Affordable Care Act — expanding Medi-Cal and launching an exchange that is
bringing real value to our residents — but there is still work to be done.”
Those who need insurance can go to CoveredCA.com to learn about
their options and find locations
in their community where they can get free, confidential help enrolling.
This year, Covered California has more than 500 storefront
locations statewide where individuals can get help enrolling — twice the number
available at the start of last year’s open enrollment.
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.
