By ONME Newswire
FRESNO, Calif. — Covered California brought its “10 Years Strong” campaign to Fresno last week, celebrating a decade of providing quality health insurance plans to people across the state. Over the past 10 years, Covered California has enabled millions of Californians to access health insurance and helped reduce the state’s uninsured rate to a historic low.
“Covered California is ‘10 Years Strong,’ and we’re celebrating a decade of expanding access to quality, affordable health care for millions of people throughout the state,” said Jessica Altman, executive director of Covered California. “Open enrollment is here, and now is the time to sign up for health coverage through Covered California that will protect you and your family.”
What You Need to Know
Open enrollment is the time of year when eligible Californians can sign up for health insurance. The increased financial help now available through the Inflation Reduction Act can lower costs for people in nearly every income bracket.
Covered California’s “10 Years Strong” campaign will highlight the progress made in expanding health care access by increasing the number of people with health insurance in every region over the past decade. It will also showcase continuing efforts to reach every community in the state to make sure all Californians have access to quality health care.
A record-high 1.7 million people are enrolled in Covered California, but many people remain uninsured. An estimated 1 million Californians do not have health insurance and are eligible to get covered at a low cost or at no cost through Covered California or Medi-Cal, including nearly 120,000 people in the region of San Joaquin, Central Valley and Eastern Kern County. Dr. Joaquin Arambula, who represents Fresno and the surrounding area in the State Assembly, urged people in the Central Valley to sign up for health insurance. “The more Californians who can access health coverage means a better quality of life for all Californians,” he said.
Under the increased and expanded financial help now available, a 21-year-old woman in Fresno who earns $27,000 a year could get a quality Silver 87 plan — which features low copays and deductibles — for just $35 a month. She could also get a comprehensive Bronze plan at no cost.
A couple in Hanford earning $45,775 a year could save $721 a month off the cost of their Silver 73 plan, which equals more than $8,600 over the course of an entire year, or they could get a comprehensive Bronze plan at no cost.
Finally, a Visalia couple earning $83,250 a year could save even more — nearly $14,000 a year — on quality coverage for themselves and their two children.
Federal data shows that since Covered California’s first open-enrollment period in 2013, California’s uninsured rate fell from 17.2 percent to a record-low 7.0 percent in 2021, the largest percentage point drop in any state in the nation.
During that time, more than 5.2 million Californians received health coverage through Covered California for at least one month. Covered California has seen its overall enrollment grow by more than 40 percent, including a more than 80 percent increase in the number of people signed up in the Central Valley, which includes Fresno, Kings and Madera counties.
Right now, 90 percent of Covered California’s enrollees qualify for financial help, and two-thirds of Covered California’s consumers are eligible for comprehensive health insurance coverage at a cost of $10 or less per month.
In addition, middle-income consumers — both uninsured and those who purchase coverage directly from a health insurance company — may save thousands of dollars a year if they sign up through Covered California.
“Covered California enters its 10th open enrollment with a proven history of being a critical resource for Californians,” Altman said. “We have opened the doors of quality health care to millions of Californians, but we still have more work to do — work that is happening now.”