Covered California Enrollment Begins

The hope is to make healthcare coverage accessible to all Californians.

The open enrollment period will last until January 31, 2016 for those needing to sign up.

Covered California Executive Director Peter Lee said, "We know we've come up short in who's enrolled today", adding, "Of those who are still uninsured, we want to make sure we reach them" (Feder Ostrov, Kaiser Health News, 10/30).

The Covered California bus tour will make a stop at Scripps Mercy Hospital in San Diego as open enrollment begins Sunday, November 1st.

Meanwhile, the exchange also launched a bus tour across the state to boost enrollment, the Los Angeles Times' "L.A. Now" reports (Jamison, "L.A. Now", Los Angeles Times, 11/1).

It's all part of the effort to entice more people who are uninsured to enroll in a health plan.

Numerous state's iconic buildings in its largest cities such as -the Los Angeles, San Francisco and Sacramento city halls; the San Diego Convention Center; the Theme Building at Los Angeles worldwide Airport; Coit Tower in San Francisco; and Sacramento's Tower Bridge - will light up with the Covered California colors for specific nights during the first weeks of enrollment.

About 4 million Californians remain uninsured.

The new ad campaign stresses the importance of having health insurance for the unexpected. The ads will include information in English, Spanish, Mandarin, Cantonese, Korean and Vietnamese. Covered California has 1.3 million consumers, about 90% of whom receive subsidies to help cover their premiums. Many are eligible for subsidies based on income.

More than 2 million Californians have purchased health insurance through Covered California since the exchange began offering coverage in 2014.