Posts Tagged: Covered

California goal: Protect health care coverage

A vaccination in progress. (Photo: Komsan Loonprom)

by LIZ HELMS posted 12.13.2016

Many families across California are feeling anxious about the future of their healthcare coverage. The campaign promise by president-elect Donald Trump to repeal Obamacare has likely created unease among many of the approximately 1.5 million Californians who purchase insurance through Covered California—the state’s online healthcare marketplace. Even for those who receive coverage through their employer

Covered California tightens belt

A free health and dental clinic. (Photo: Joseph Sohm)

by SAMANTHA GALLEGOS posted 05.13.2015

Covered California, the first and largest state-sanctioned health insurance exchange created through the Affordable Care Act, is going to start the new fiscal year with less money. A combination of lackluster enrollment and the loss of some federal funds that helped sustain it through its start-up period are partly the reason, said Peter Lee, Covered California’s executive director.

Three seats on the powerful board that governs California’s multibillion-dollar health insurance exchange are up for grabs, giving the Brown administration – whose allies already comprise a majority on the five-member board — an opportunity to name two new directors. Two seats held by appointees of former Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger expired last week. A third became vacant following the resignation last month of Robert Ross, the president of the nonprofit California Endowment.

OPINION: As a surgeon, I weigh in on political issues whenever they impact me and my patients, and when I think I can shed additional light on the matter. That was the case this year when I became a vocal opponent of Proposition 45, which would have given the state’s Insurance Commissioner unprecedented new powers over health care decisions.

OPINION: Occasionally, a patient can find the information on the individual insurer website, but the formularies are displayed differently with each plan, making it difficult to compare plans to each other. In addition, there is no way to compare out-of-pocket costs.

Covered California targets voter registration

Into the ballot box: A man votes in a California election. (Photo: Vepar5)

by JOHN HOWARD posted 04.23.2014

Under the terms of a legal settlement with the American Civil Liberties Union, Covered California is sending out registration mailers to nearly four million people who sought health insurance. The mailings, which have already begun, are the first step in an ongoing voter registration effort that will include this year’s month-long open enrollment period in the fall, when people choose new coverage plans or switch existing ones, and then continue into the future.

Jerry Schumacher’s Fullerton-based engineering firm seems like the perfect example of what President Obama would like to see from American business when it comes to health care. The company offers coverage to all of its full-time employees, and pays 100 percent of the monthly premium.

With the implementation of the Affordable Care Act, or Obamacare, California’s healthcare system is undergoing some of the biggest changes since Medicare was introduced in 1964.  While this is an exciting development that promises to improve the overall quality of health for all Californians, it is sure to bring some challenges for people as they