SF, L.A. top Obamacare signups

San Francisco Bay AreaCounties in the Los Angeles and San Francisco regions accounted for almost half of healthcare insurance signups in the first two months of Obamacare operation in California.

The Bay Area signed a much higher percent of those eligible for subsidies than Los Angeles County, which lagged the state in percentage terms despite signing up the most people, officials said.

The regional breakdowns for October and November were released in mid-December by Covered California, the state marketplace for private insurance.

California consumers showed a clear preference for the major health insurance carriers offered under the Affordable Care Act, with almost all of those receiving government subsidies electing the “silver” metal tier for coverage.

Statewide, 109,296 individuals enrolled in Covered California health insurance plans for the two-month period. The new numbers do not reflect the significant increase in signups reported as the Dec. 23 deadline looms for coverage that begins Jan. 1.

Covered California reported a total of 689,477 applications started statewide as of Dec. 14. That figure was 551,776 through Dec. 7. Enrollment numbers — actual signups, or those who’ve completed the application process and selected a healthcare plan — won’t be released until January.

The regional figures for October and November show Los Angeles County with 24,957 signups, or 23 percent of the statewide enrollment. L.A. County (pricing regions 15 and 16) reported 31 percent of those eligible for subsidies statewide, however. That gap was by far the biggest in the state. The major carriers Blue Shield of California, Anthem Blue Cross of California, Kaiser Permanente and Health Net took 90 percent of the business in the county.

For the Bay Area, 22,166 individuals signed up, consisting of about 20 percent of the statewide enrollment. The counties of San Francisco, Contra Costa, Alameda, Santa Clara and San Mateo (pricing regions 4, 5, 6, 7 and 8) represent about 13 percent of those eligible for subsidies, Covered California reported. The area outperformed all others in California in terms of signups vs. potential signups.

Other regional reports:

North Bay (region 2): 5,247 individuals in Marin, Napa, Sonoma and Solano counties. Signups are 5 percent out of pool of 3 percent of those eligible for subsidies statewide.

Central Coast (regions 9, 12): 7,869 individuals in Santa Cruz, Monterey, San Benito, San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara and Ventura counties. Signups are 7 percent of the statewide enrollment out of pool of 6 percent of those eligible for subsidies statewide.

Central Valley (regions 10, 11): 6,514 individuals in the counties of San Joaquin, Stanislaus, Merced, Mariposa, Tulare, Fresno, Kings and Madera. Signups are 6 percent of the statewide enrollment out of pool of 8 percent of those eligible for subsidies statewide.

Orange County (region 18): 9,575 individuals in Orange County. Signups are 9 percent of the statewide enrollment out of pool of 8 percent of those eligible for subsidies statewide.

Sacramento (region 3): 7,031 individuals in Sacramento, El Dorado, Placer and Yolo counties. Signups are 6 percent of the statewide enrollment out of pool of 5 percent of those eligible for subsidies statewide.

San Diego (region 19): 10,231 individuals in San Diego County. Signups are 9 percent of the statewide enrollment out of pool of 8 percent of those eligible for subsidies statewide.

Inland Empire (region 17): 9,882 individuals in the counties of San Bernardino and Riverside. Signups are 9 percent of the statewide enrollment out of pool of 13 percent of those eligible for subsidies statewide.

For the week Dec. 8-14, the CoveredCA.com web site logged 644,654 “unique” visits. Total call volume at service centers was 105,091, with an average wait time of 31.19 minutes.

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