Regional Map Identifies “Hot Spots” to Guide Enrollment
Efforts
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — As the Dec. 15 deadline to enroll for health insurance
starting in January approached,
Covered California released a list of the top areas in Los Angeles where
high numbers of people who qualify for subsidized health insurance are believed
to reside.
The “hot spots” released today show the estimated highest
concentrations of subsidy-eligible uninsured individuals — people who qualify
for help to buy health insurance through Covered California but have not yet
taken advantage of it.
“Covered California works across all of Los Angeles, but
the map helps us focus our efforts on areas where we know many who are still
uninsured live,” Covered California Executive Director Peter V. Lee said.
“Everyone who needs health insurance, or knows someone who does, should know
they can get financial help to pay for top-brand health insurance coverage, and
if they enroll by Dec. 15, their coverage can start on Jan. 1.”
Lee appeared with Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti at Eisner
Pediatric and Family Medical Center in Los Angeles.
“If you live in one of these areas — in Boyle Heights, in
Huntington Park, in East Hollywood — and you do not have health insurance, now
is the time to get covered,” Garcetti said. “This is our opportunity to build
healthier communities throughout Los Angeles, Southern California and the rest
of the state.”
In addition to his appearance today, Garcetti recently
recorded public service announcements in English (https://youtu.be/jXnifqGwZiw)
and Spanish (https://youtu.be/amRxNmjPfhU)
to encourage Angelenos to explore their options and find the best health care
plan that fits their needs.
According to Covered California, the “hot spots” shown
on the map at www.CoveredCA.com/news/PDFs/CoveredCA_Heat_Map_LA.pdf
contain a high number of subsidy-eligible residents in the Los Angeles region.
The hot spots generally contain more remaining subsidy-eligible
individuals per capita than the rest of the Los Angeles region. For example, an
estimated 5.1 percent of the population in the East Los Angeles hot spots are
subsidy-eligible, compared with 1.8 percent on average in the greater Los
Angeles region.
Covered
California has redoubled its enrollment outreach efforts, including:
- Working to expand the number of storefronts in neighborhood hot spots.
- Working on the ground with Certified Insurance Agents and community partners to ensure that enrollment events are located in optimal locations and that residents in hot spot communities are aware of enrollment locations nearby.
- Conducting more than a dozen interviews with Spanish-language and Asian-language media and highlighting hot spots by name to reach Spanish speakers and Asian-language speakers in their neighborhoods.
- Scheduling phone banks in partnership with English- and Spanish-language news outlets and promoting enrollment in specific neighborhoods.
- Launching an intensive enrollment effort in communities where high numbers of subsidy-eligible African-Americans reside, by going door to door to canvas with street teams; visiting barber shops, hair care salons and other small businesses; and deploying the “Van with a Plan” (a branded Covered California van) to areas where high numbers of subsidy-eligible, uninsured Californians live.
Enrollment locations can be found by visiting www.CoveredCA.com/get-help/local and searching for enrollment
help statewide by ZIP code. In addition, hundreds of locations with Covered
California signage mark places where consumers can enroll confidentially and at
no cost.
“Our research indicates that one-third of those eligible to
get financial help to buy insurance don’t know it’s available,” Lee said. “We
want to leave no stone unturned and make sure our message reaches into
neighborhoods throughout the state, especially those where we believe the
highest number of the eligible uninsured live.”
The release of the map came as Covered California continued
open enrollment, which is when all of those eligible for coverage under the
Affordable Care Act can enroll.
As of Monday, Dec. 7, more than 83,000 Californians had selected
plans through Covered California since open enrollment began on Nov. 1.
“Thousands of people are signing up every day for Covered
California, and we’re off to a good start to meet our forecasted enrollment of
295,000 to 450,000 new enrollees during this third open-enrollment period,” Lee
said.
Covered California estimates that 750,000 people in the
state are eligible for help paying for their health insurance but remain
uninsured, with 204,000 of them living in Los Angeles County. An additional 1.4
million people statewide are believed to qualify for low-cost or no-cost
Medi-Cal, with 389,000 of them living in Los Angeles County.
Covered California developed the map by combining estimates
of eligibility for coverage under the Affordable Care Act from a model of
California insurance markets that was developed by the University of
California, Los Angeles, Center for Health Policy Research and the University
of California, Berkeley, Center for Labor Research and Education, known as the
California Simulation of Insurance Markets (or CalSIM) and from U.S. Census data
from the American Community Survey.
The model accounts for individuals who are eligible for
other sources of coverage (Medi-Cal, Medicare or job-based coverage), as well
as those who are undocumented.
The estimates also incorporate Covered California’s
currently enrolled consumers (as of July 2015).
To find out more about the health plans and options available,
consumers can visit www.CoveredCA.com. Consumers can get a quick assessment of
how much it would cost to buy health insurance by clicking on “Shop and Compare,”
and they can apply for coverage online. Those who need assistance can click on
the “Find Local Help to Enroll” button to find a certified enroller or
insurance agent who can provide free, confidential assistance in a variety of
languages.
Open enrollment continues through Jan. 31.
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.
