COBRA extension for Covered Cal

Consumers with coverage under COBRA can buy health insurance via Covered California under a program that runs through July 15. COBRA policy holders "could save thousands of dollars a year," Covered California said in announcing the two-month sign-up period May 15. The program comes in the wake of a U.S. Department of Health and Human Services ruling announced May 2 that allows COBRA enrollees to buy Affordable Care Act plans ... (More)

Covered Cal opens door to April 15

Saying "there’s only so much you can do operationally," Covered California has responded to a crush of late-minute enrollments with a new conditional deadline of April 15. The deadline-day moves -- in response to web site slowing and outages -- are in the spirit of those announced by the White House for those struggling to sign up for private health insurance via the federal Obamacare web site. Covered California said late March ... (More)

‘We will not be extending deadline’

Despite widespread speculation that the March 31 deadline for Obamacare would be pushed back, Covered California says that won't be happening. "It’s time to get the word out," Covered California executive director Peter Lee, left, wrote March 17. "Californians have until March 31 to be part of making history. We will not be extending the deadline." The White House, however, indicated that those who had technical problems meeting ... (More)

Covered Cal near 1 million mark

Covered California is closing in on 1 million residents signed up for coverage under the Affordable Care Act. The state Obamacare operation said "total enrollment in Covered California health insurance plans" reached 923,832 as of March 9. The deadline for 2014 sign-ups looms -- March 31. Taking a more liberal count, Covered California said 3 million Californians have signed up for health coverage through Covered California or ... (More)

Covered Cal web enrollment back

Covered California's online enrollment system is back online, after an embarrassing and disruptive outage of five days. The state Obamacare operation blamed the web site crash on "a software malfunction that occurred during a planned maintenance update on Sunday, Feb. 16." Many of the site's pages were visible, but those trying to enroll were greeted with an advisory saying the site would be back soon. "We are experiencing ... (More)