The first wave of eager affordable health insurance seekers have signed up for a health plan through Covered California. Over 16,000 California residents enrolled in a new ACA health plan in the first week of the state exchange being open for business according to Covered California.
California residents line up to enroll on-line
There were a total of 43,616 applications for health insurance started in the first week Covered California was open for business. An estimated 16,311 households were able to complete the entire enrollment process representing 28,699 California residents. What Covered California did not release were the completed applications that were eligible for premium assistance and how many qualified for Medi-Cal.
Small groups seek new health plans
There were also 430 small groups that had started the application process to offer Covered California health plans to their employees. However, small group plans through the SHOP program must use an insurance agent to complete the application and enrollment. Unfortunately, in the first week of operations, no agents had been certified to sell Covered California SHOP plans to small groups.
Federal shut down doesn’t stop demand
Regardless of the lack of insurance agents and technical website issues, the number of California residents applying for the new health plans through Covered California denotes a strong demand for affordable health insurance. It’s ironic that in the face of such strong demand there are politicians in Washington D.C. who have shut down the federal government in order to dismantle the affordable health insurance options for millions of Americans.
Covered California Press Release
October 8, 2013
THOUSANDS OF CONSUMERS APPLY FOR HEALTH INSURANCE THROUGH NEW COVERED CALIFORNIA MARKEPLACE
First Week of Open Enrollment Reveals Strong Demand for Coverage; Nearly 1 Million Unique Visits to Website; Service Center Calls Surge
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Covered California™ received tens of thousands of enrollment applications during the first week consumers could officially apply for health insurance at the agency’s online marketplace, as well as those newly eligible for Medi-Cal coverage.
“We’ve started strong,” said Executive Director Peter V. Lee. “The amount of interest and number of applications we’ve received in the first week underscores the demand among Californians for quality, affordable health care.” Website and Call Center Weekly Report: Oct.1-5
Service volumes
- Unique visits to CoveredCA.com 987,440
- CAll volume 59,003
- Average wait time 15:08*
- Average handling time 16:48
- Applications 43,616
- Partially completed 27,305
- Applications completed with household eligibility determined 126,311
- Number of Californians determined eligible for coverage 28,699
- Small Business Health Options Program businesses registered as of 10/08/2013 430
| *Average wait time was reduced to less than four minutes by Friday, 10/4/2013. |
For the initial week of operations, reflecting Tuesday through Saturday (Oct. 1-5), Covered California’s website, www.CoveredCA.com, had 987,440 unique visits. Online, 16,311 households completed their eligibility process and were determined eligible for subsidies, Medi-Cal or to enroll in an individual private plan. These household applications contained 28,699 individuals who completed eligibility determination. An additional 27,305 households had partially completed their online application.
At Covered California Service Centers, 59,003 calls were logged over the five-day period.
“It’s just the beginning, but these numbers are truly exciting and encouraging,” Lee said. Consumers were equally excited about being able to enroll online in Covered California health insurance plans that provide quality and value, and uniform benefits, without worry about pre-existing conditions.
Paul Torrigino of Sacramento enrolled in a Bronze plan for about a dollar per month and said, “Oh my gosh, the insurance has been going up for the last few years like crazy. All our money was going to pay for medical insurance.”
In San Diego, the Gedankens are receiving premium assistance of $1,300 a month on their Silver plan — roughly half the cost they’re paying now.
And Aura Lee Sanchez from Sacramento said when she enrolled, “It felt fantastic to finally get coverage!”
“With almost three months to enroll for coverage effective Jan. 1, the fact that thousands of Californians and hundreds of our small businesses are stepping forward in our first week is a testament to the need for the Affordable Care Act,” said Peter Lee.
Subsequent weekly statistics will be based on a Sunday-through-Saturday schedule. Total enrollment for October will be released in November.
“Covered California is committed to sharing information and will continue to report weekly on the numbers of visits to our website and the number of consumer calls to our Service Centers,” Lee said.
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