The Spotlight on Coverage Bus Tour officially crossed the thousand-mile mark on Wednesday. That means the tour is at the halfway point in the 2,095-mile journey across the state to kick off open enrollment for health care starting in 2016.
Yesterday’s travels took us to the Central Coast. Joining us on the bus were several of our Service Center Representatives from Fresno who were commended with employee awards for their superior work providing customer service. They were given the opportunity to ride the bus as a thanks for their hard work helping people enroll, answering consumers’ questions and troubleshooting problems. Many of them have been with us since the first open-enrollment period in October 2013.
In San Luis Obispo County, Twin Cities Community Hospital welcomed us to their medical facility. More than 11,000 county residents have signed up so far. Credit for that is due to partners like the Certified Application Counselors at Twin Cities Community Hospital, and the more than 100 Certified Insurance Agents operating throughout the region. There are still another 30,000 people eligible for health insurance through Covered California in San Luis Obispo County, and 60,000 who qualify for Medi-Cal. This year, residents here also have the option to sign up for UnitedHealthcare, a new addition to the health plan roster for 2016.
Omni Family Health in Bakersfield was our second stop. This organization is one of our valuable community partners who has been with us for multiple enrollment periods. We paid them a visit to single them out for their ongoing commitment to getting the residents of Bakersfield covered.
Highlighting the diversity of the Central Valley is the Jagdeep Singh Insurance Agency in Fresno. In an area with immigrants from all over the world, diverse cultures all speak the same language of health care. There are now so many places to get culturally sensitive help signing up for coverage because of storefronts like Jagdeep Singh Insurance Agency that have a presence and relationship with their community. Getting insured means each group has the opportunity to thrive in the mosaic of cultures that makes up the Central Valley.
Later today, we will be visiting:
- 8:30 a.m. – Covered California Service Center (7201 N. Palm Avenue
- Fresno, CA 93711).
- 12:00 p.m. -- Salinas Valley Memorial Hospital (450 E. Romie Lane, Salinas, CA 93901).
- 1:30 p.m. -- Salud Para La Gente (204 E. Beach St., Watsonville, CA 95076).
- 3:30 p.m. -- Trung Tran Insurance Agency (1818 Tully Rd., San Jose, CA 95122).
