Covered California has logged about 227,000 application starts so far, with business at a steady pace in recent weeks. The insurance marketplace counted 511,000 unique visits to its web site in the week ending Nov. 2, with its phone service centers handling about 50,000 calls.
The latest numbers are down slightly from the week before, but up from the week before that, suggesting the Affordable Care Act marketplace of California has picked up some momentum as the Dec. 15 deadline for signups draws closer.
The total number of people (“uniques”) coming to the Covered California as of Nov. 2 was 2.6 million. The phone centers have handled more than 260,000 calls since opening for business.
Covered California has not released the number of individual insurance policies actually sold, but has vowed to release the number this month. Critics have said the Obamacare state exchanges and the federal web site are not releasing numbers because signups are so low. Covered California has said it expected mostly comparison shopping and looky-loos during the first month of operation.
The state marketplace said its enrollment assistance program now has 16,385 people authorized to help people sign up. That includes 10,725 county eligibility workers. There are almost 4,400 insurance agents qualified to provide help, with another 14,424 in the wings.
Call volume to the Covered California service centers was put at 49,461 for the work week of Oct. 27-Nov. 2. The average wait time for a response was about 2 1/2 minutes, about the same as in recent weeks. Average call length has been 15 minutes.
Covered California chief Peter Lee blogged: “These men and women aren’t just answering calls, in many ways they’re answering prayers.”
Lee, who has been doing plenty of cheerleading and damage control in recent weeks, gave this example:
When one of the (Covered California) staff noted that a caller of his had broken down in tears of gratitude and appreciation for their no longer having to live in fear — many around the room nodded in agreement. I asked: “How many of you have also had callers break down in tears of relief?” The response was almost half of the room.
The latest media dust-up over Obamacare in California has been the cancellation of individual insurance policies because they do not meet the Affordable Care Act’s set of essential health benefits for the state. Those affected need to change policies; they are not being dropped as individuals.
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