Covered CALIFORNIA Uninsured urged to sign up

There are more than 100,000 people in Northern California that could get insurance through Covered California, but haven’t yet.

Assemblymember Jim Wood urged uninsured residents to sign up for a health insurance plan during Covered California’s 10th open enrollment, the time of year when residents can sign up for health insurance. About 22,000 people are already enrolled in Assembly District 2, which Wood represents.

“I encourage all Northern California residents to learn more about their health care options and … sign up today,” Wood said.

The state’s health insurance marketplace Covered California was established after the passage of the Affordable Care Act at the federal level in 2010. It had its first open enrollment period in 2013 and has brought the rate of uninsured residents down from 17.2% to 7% in 2021, according to a Covered California news release.

Meanwhile, the release states the number of people who are enrolled in a health insurance plan in Northern California has increased 42%, from 42,810 enrollees in 2014 to 60,720 enrollees in 2021.

Plans were made even more affordable and accessible during the pandemic thanks to federal subsidies through the American Rescue Plan. Wood helped ensure those subsidies would continue after the pandemic, and keep providing plans with generous premium subsidies and low or no copays. That was made possible through funding from the Inflation Reduction Act passed about a year ago.

“But new data shows that there are more than 1 million uninsured Californians who are eligible for financial help that could bring the cost of coverage within reach,” said Jessica Altman, executive director of Covered California. “Of that group, more than half are estimated to be able to get quality coverage through Covered California or MediCal at no cost and the rest are eligible for significant financial help that will lower the cost of their monthly health insurance premiums.”

About 90% of enrollees qualify for financial help, saving an average of about $479 per month, Altman said. Two-thirds are eligible for coverage for $10 or less per month.

Anyone interested in getting coverage can explore their options at CoveredCA.com by entering their household income, ZIP code, household size and the number of people who need coverage, as well as their ages.

Free assistance is available over the phone in a variety of languages from certified enrollers at 800-300-1506.

Sonia Waraich can be reached at 707-441-0504.