Almost 500,000 enrollees for 2015

Covered California ended its closely watched second enrollment with almost 500,000 new consumers.

The total of 495,073, brings overall enrollment in the state Obamacare operation to 1.4 million, short of the 1.7 million goal set by Covered California.

The organization pointed to “a more diverse and younger population” of enrollees, both targeted demographics.

“It is clear Latinos, African-Americans and young adults not only heard, but acted on Covered California’s increased advertising and person-to-person outreach,” Covered California chief Peter Lee said.

There is a third enrollment period under way for private health insurance sold by the Obamacare exchange of California. People who say they were confused by the tax-time implications of the Affordable Care Act can state so and still sign up for 2015, until April 30.

Covered California previously extended signups for a week, helping those who said they had trouble enrolling for the health insurance. That period ended Feb. 22.

Meanwhile, more than 779,000 consumers enrolled in Medi-Cal from Nov. 15 through Jan. 31. Medi-Cal signups continue throughout the year. People with significant life changes such as the loss of a job or birth of a child can sign up for the private health insurance.

Only 58,103 enrollees signed up for non-subsidized health plans via Covered California, indicating the uninsured who sought to avoid federal penalties but did not meet income requirements for help with premiums purchased their coverage directly from insurers.

Other detail provided March 5 by Covered California:

• New enrollments of subsidy-eligible Latinos increased from 31 percent in 2014 to 37 percent of the overall subsidy-eligible enrollment in 2015.
• New enrollments of subsidy-eligible African-American rose from 3 percent in 2014 to 4 percent in 2015.
• Young adults 18 to 34 years old moved up 5 percentage points, to 34 percent of new enrollees in 2015, compared with 29 percent in 2014.

“Our work in transitioning California from a culture of coping to a culture of coverage is paying off, but we know we are still in the early days of what is a long-term commitment to continually reach out to California’s diverse populations, who have new coverage options,” Lee said.