Service Center Received More Than 250,000 Calls This Week
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Covered California is seeing a high volume of enrollment as the final day of open enrollment nears.
“We are very pleased with the amount of interest we are seeing in these last few days,”said Executive Director Peter V. Lee at an enrollment event in Lynwood, California. “This is the moment to take action and enroll. We are working hard to ensure consumers know that financial assistance available, and that the penalty for not having insurance is going up substantially.”
At an enrollment event held in Plaza Mexico in Lynwood, California today, more than one hundred consumers had enrolled in affordable, quality health care coverage just in the first hour of the event. The Lynwood event was one of more than 200 enrollment events available throughout the state this weekend where consumers can get help to enroll.
"We must ensure that communities of color and non-English speaking communities get informed and enroll in Covered California," Senator Ricardo Lara said also speaking at the enrollment event in Lynwood, California.
To find an event, visit CoveredCA.com/get-help/local/events/. Events are by City or ZIP code and representatives are able to help consumers in a multitude of languages. In the past week (Monday through Friday), consumers had placed more than 250,000 calls to Covered California’s Service Center with wait times averaging less than five minutes.
There are hundreds of Service Center representatives available today to help consumers enroll. The Service Center is open today and tomorrow 8:00 am until midnight. In addition, there are tens of thousands of Certified Insurance Agents and other certified enrollers ready to assist consumers in person.
Consumers can sign up in a variety of ways, including enrolling online at www.CoveredCA.com, calling (800) 300-1506 to enroll over the phone and finding inperson help in their communities. In-person enrollment assistance is free, confidential and offered in a variety of languages. Help can be found by visiting www.CoveredCA.com/get-help/local and searching by ZIP code.
After open enrollment, consumers will only be allowed to sign-up after that time if they have a life-changing event such as getting married, having a child or moving. Medi-Cal enrollment is year-round.
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.
