Covered California enrollment begins
SACRAMENTO — Covered California will kick off open enrollment today with the launch of a new comprehensive marketing and outreach campaign as well as upgrades to the consumer shopping experience for those seeking health insurance.
“While we know there is confusion because of the uncertainty in Washington, we want people to know that Covered California is rock solid,” said Peter V. Lee, executive director of Covered California. “We’re offering stability, choice and affordable options in 2018 in the face of uncertainty in much of the country.”
Open enrollment is the one time of year when anyone who needs health insurance can enroll without needing to meet special qualifying conditions. Covered California’s open-enrollment period will continue for three months, while open enrollment in 42 other states will end on Dec. 15.
“While we encourage all consumers to sign up by Dec. 15 to get coverage that starts on Jan. 1, we will continue with open enrollment through Jan. 31 to give our consumers time to explore their options, change plans if they need to and shop for the health coverage that’s right for them,” Lee said.
A new analysis by Covered California shows the importance of going to www.coveredca.com to shop and compare, because some changes in 2018 rates may work in the consumer’s favor.
“For the 1.1 million Californians who enroll with us and get financial help, on average the price they pay will actually go down — even though their underlying rate is going up,” Lee said. “And Californians who are uninsured need to see if they, too, can get great coverage that costs them only a small fraction of the health plan's regular rate.”
The analysis looked at the real-world impact on the price consumers will pay after the costsharing reduction (CSR) surcharge, which will increase the amount of financial help available to consumers.
Among the findings from the analysis:
the average price subsidized consumers will pay for coverage will go down by about 1.5 percent from 2017 to 2018 — a decrease of $9 per month or $108 per year. As a result, Californians receiving financial help will be paying at least $118 million less for their coverage in 2018 than they did in 2017.
Subsidized consumers who keep their existing plans will be paying on average $115 per month for coverage that has a monthly total premium of $579, which is an average monthly savings of more than $450 per month.
Everyone who does not receive financial help — representing
about 15 percent of those enrolled through Covered California and the 1.1 million Californians who purchase directly from their plan “off-exchange” — can avoid paying the CSR surcharge by switching tiers or purchasing a near-mirrored Silver plan off-exchange.
In 2017, unsubsidized Californians paid on average $115 less per month, or $1,380 less per year, because the state's consumer pool is one of the healthiest in the nation, with costs approximately 20 percent lower than those in the federally facilitated marketplace. Consequently, unsubsidized Californians saved more than $1.3 billion in 2017 thanks to the state's healthy risk mix.