Bucking nationwide trends, California's uninsured rate for health insurance remains "stable and low," according to a UCLA survey. The uninsured rate was 8.1 percent in 2018, according to the UCLA Center for Health Policy Research. Researchers credited "a stronger economy and state efforts to mitigate policy changes affecting the private purchase market." California's extended open enrollment period got part of the credit for the ... (More)
Covered California open for signups
October 15, 2019 Leave a Comment
Covered California's open enrollment is under way. It runs through Jan. 15. The signup period unfurls accompanied by a series of changes. Californians who fail to obtain health insurance again will be penalized come tax time. The return of the "individual mandate" sees a minimum $695 state tax penalty. Gov. Gavin Newsom agreed to that change during the summer. The state's middle class will enjoy expanded subsidies in 2020. The new ... (More)
Covered Cal premium hikes at 1%
July 9, 2019 Leave a Comment
Covered California's average rate increase for 2020 will be just under 1 percent, officials said. The good news came shortly after state lawmakers reinstated a penalty for residents who fail to carry health insurance, similar to the "individual mandate" imposed under the federal Affordable Care Act. Covered California said it was "the lowest change" since the insurance marketplace launched. All 11 health insurance companies ... (More)
Individual mandate back in Calif.
June 29, 2019 Leave a Comment
Californians again face a tax penalty for not having health insurance. Gov. Gavin Newsom, left, signed into law the Legislature's plan to reintroduce a so-called individual mandate, effective Jan. 1, 2020. Californians are required to have "minimal essential" health coverage. Led by President Trump, the federal government in 2017 killed the Obamacare penalty, effective with this tax year. The new state penalty is designed to ... (More)
Covered Cal signups down 24%
January 31, 2019 Leave a Comment
New enrollments in Covered California plunged by almost 24 percent for the current year, a fall that had been both feared and expected. "The federal removal of the individual mandate penalty appears to have had a substantial impact on the number of new consumers signing up for coverage," Covered California chief Peter Lee said. Nonetheless, the state Obamacare operation finished its open enrollment for 2019 with 1.5 million plan ... (More)
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