Covered California checks an IRS database of members to confirm they have filed a federal tax return. If you filed with an extension after April 15th, your federal tax filing status may not have been logged in the IRS system when Covered California checked the tax filing status. Consequently, many people who file their taxes with an extension are getting the Covered California letter stating they cannot confirm if the primary tax filer submitted a tax return. Another issue is if the primary tax filer for the last tax year is different than who is listed on the Covered California application.
Covered California Application
Posts related to the Covered California application, consumer account, estimating income, household size, monthly subsidies, health plans, Medi-Cal, and terminations.
Will Covered California Survive Trump?
Except for the initial funds from the federal government to establish Covered California back in 2011, they receive no federal or state money to fund their operations. While they do work under the Department of Managed Health Care, Covered California is an independent agency. They are funded by participation fees paid by the health plans.
Special Enrollment Covered California Renewal Issue
However, individuals and families who had a qualifying event for a special enrollment period, and applied in October or November, are not in passive renewal status. You will need to push through the application for the next year. Select Apply Now from your home page to start the process.
How Rate Increases Lower Covered California Health Insurance
There are times when some regions get a huge windfall of subsidies. In Region 9, Valley Health Plan left the region. This dropped the expensive Blue Cross EPO into the SLCSP slot. This resulted in a 57 percent increase of the SLCSP rate in 2025 from Blue Shield HMO that was the SLCSP in 2024.
2025 Changes to Covered California Health Plans
The Silver 73 has lower cost-sharing than a Silver 70 and is unchanged for 2025. There are no medical or pharmacy deductibles. The maximum out-of-pocket is $6,100. The most significant change is that it will be available to any Covered California enrollee with income over 250 percent of the federal poverty level.
2025 Covered California Income Table Explanations
For eligible households with income over 250 percent FPL, only the Silver 73 plan will be offered, which is a better value than a Silver 70. At least for 2025, there will be no Silver 70 for qualifying households. The Silver 70 will still be offered to consumers who opt not to be considered for the Advance Premium Tax Credit subsidies based on household income.
New Covered California Income Attestation Form for Artificial Intelligence Processing
Covered California is using AI to expedite the verification process. Common documents are scanned by AI, determined valid, and then the account is updated that the requested verification has been provided. Of course, the quality of the image submitted to Covered California can play a large role in AI being able to recognize and verify it or fail the submission.
Phishing Email Text Scam Targeting Covered California Consumers and Agents
On May 2, 2024, I received an email, allegedly from Covered California, requesting I update my information for their store front program. The first clue that this was a phishing scam was that I never applied to the Covered California store front program.
Covered California to use Google AI
Covered California has run a test using AI on several parts of the application process and found that the AI verification solution was successful 80 to 96 percent of the time in correctly identifying the documents submitted.
COBRA or Covered California, Which is Best?
However, even though COBRA may be more expensive than a Covered California plan with the subsidies, there can be good reasons to opt into a COBRA plan. The COBRA plan will be the continuation of the employer plan, usually without any employer contribution to lower the monthly health insurance premiums.