Covered California and the Affordable Care Act are health reform initiatives meant to help Americans get access to quality and affordable medical benefits. One of the primary benefits of these initiatives is the ability to receive subsidies to help reduce the costs of monthly healthcare premiums. However, according California Healthline and a recent study by H&R Block, nearly two-thirds of taxpayers who received a subsidy on the Covered California exchange are now having to repay taxes to the federal government. Individuals who were granted too big of a subsidy had to repay about $729 on average compared to those who were given too little of
Covered California for Small Business
SHOP, also known as the Small Business Health Options Program, is getting a “rebrand” on the Covered California website. The new name of the program for small business will be called Covered California for Small Business. According to some officials, the naming and marketing of the program was not as straightforward as other programs. Therefore, they are hoping that this rebrand will market to a broader audience and entice more businesses to enroll in coverage. About 2,289 small businesses are currently enrolled in Covered California for Small Business. One of the primary benefits of a small business enrolling in a Covered California health plan is the tax credits.
Prescription Drug Cap
About 7 out of 10 or 70% of Americans take prescription drugs, which is why the discussions surrounding prescription drug costs are so important. Covered California officials recently proposed a limit on drug costs for consumers who have specialty prescriptions and purchase a 2016 health plan.Their goal is to give these individuals accessible and affordable coverage for their prescriptions. The proposal would: Place certain drugs in pricing tiers Require health plans to publish pricing information about the prescriptions online Mandate that there must be at least one drug for a particular condition in a lower tier For example, this would mean that the cost of
Covered California Behind on Enrollments
Since the initial launch of Covered California, nearly 1.4 million people have enrolled in the exchange (the goal set by Executive Director Peter Lee was 1.7 million enrollments). Still, there have been a few setbacks that have included special enrollment periods for the past two years to encourage last minute coverage. While last year’s special enrollment period was designed to get last minute signups because of the initial enrollment difficulties, the current special enrollment period is designed to help those who were “unaware of the tax penalty” receive coverage. Thus far, 18,000 people have signed up since the special enrollment period opened February 23rd. However,
What You Need to Know for Special Enrollment
As many of you already know, there is a tax penalty for being uninsured that was supposed to go into effect in 2015. However, Covered California is now extending the deadline to enroll in coverage for people who did not know or realize they would be penalized in 2015 for being uninsured. Therefore, California is allowing consumers to apply for health insurance thru April 30, 2015 during the “Special Enrollment” period only if they they can prove that they did not realize there was a penalty. How do you prove that you were unaware of the penalty? Consumers have to select “Informed of Tax Penalty Risk”
Covered California Outpaces Last Year’s Sign Ups
On November 15th, the Covered California open enrollment period kicked off. After website glitches and high call volumes last year, the Covered California team had new goals and hopes for this year. One of the primary goals was to decrease call abandonment in the customer call center. Last year, three out of every ten calls were dropped so the exchange had a goal of dropping less than 3% of calls. However, the abandon rate is still something they are struggling with as consumers seek answers to password resets, re-enrollment questions, ongoing open enrollment inquiries, and changes in their Medi-Cal status. Covered California Director Peter Lee
Covered California vs. COBRA
If you’ve lost health insurance coverage due to a qualifying event such as losing a job or leaving a job, you have a few options to remain insured. Some individuals prefer to continue their employer sponsored coverage through COBRA, others prefer to purchase insurance directly from the private marketplace. For those eligible for premium subsidies, Covered California may also be a good option. Regardless of which option is chosen, an employee has 60 days from the former health plan end date to apply for coverage through COBRA, Covered California, or the Private Exchange. Here are the different options for remaining insured after a change in
Health Insurance Education Program On CSU Campuses
Recruiting young, healthy individuals is a key factor in the success of Obamacare. Enrolling the younger individuals is also an important element in keeping the cost of insurance rates down. If enrollees are only composed of the older, less healthy individuals, rates would continue to rise. That’s why Covered California focused much of its efforts on recruiting at California State University campuses. They chose to recruit at the CSU systems because the population is composed of a diverse demographic. Their primary goal was to get individuals and families on campus covered through the state run exchange. Their initial benchmark of success for this project was to
Lessons Learned from Covered California Year 1
Covered California has survived its first year on the market and many executives are looking back on issues, achievements, and improvements to make the next open enrollment period a success. While the first open enrollment period had long wait times and website glitches, directors are now looking back on these issues are searching for resolutions. In response to lessons learned from the launch of Covered California, Executive Director Peter Lee stated that “The top lesson learned is the incredible response we saw from consumers. […] We weren’t ready for it. Our call centers weren’t ready. We are changing what we’re doing going into 2015.” What are the
Covered California One Year Review
On October 1st 2013, Covered California launched. It has been one year and while it initially kicked off to a shaky start with numerous website crashes, officials are looking back into the success of the program and prepping for the open enrollment launch next month. The goal of Covered California in 2014 is to renew participants that enrolled last year as well as encourage eligible participants to sign up. Covered California Director Peter Lee states that they are coordinating numerous outreach plans in their market strategy to make 2014 a success. Was 2013 Open Enrollment Successful? 3.4 million individuals enrolled in Covered California health plans