Covered California saw a record amount of residents sign up for health insurance during this year’s open enrollment period.
Nearly 1.8 million people across the state have enrolled. This includes over 300,000 new members. Jessica Altman, the executive director of Covered California, told KNX News there are several reasons why the state is seeing an influx of enrollment.
“The first is we know that the largest barrier to health care coverage in California, and the country more broadly, is affordability, and Covered California this year is offering more affordability than we ever have before in terms of the financial assistance that we make available,” Altman said.
This year, there is also a new program that lowers out-of-pocket costs, which Altman said could be another reason more people have enrolled.
“It's very important to know we don't have income limits on Covered California, but that assistance is on a sliding scale depending on your income,” she said. “So the more you need, the more you get.”
The new program eliminates deductibles and lowers copays for primary care, behavioral health, and generic drugs.
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Altman explained that Covered California is an active purchaser, which means they’re negotiating and setting standards with their health care plans. She said they also have set expectations for how health care plans will work with providers to deliver access to quality and equitable care.
“What an active purchaser really means is it is not a known that you get to be on Covered California,” Altman said. “Health plans have to demonstrate that they can meet those standards and that they're going to do that in the best interest of Californians.”
The open enrollment period has closed, but people can still sign up under certain circumstances. Altman said people who lose their health insurance, get married, or have recently moved to California can sign up at any time during the year.
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