New California Gov. Gavin Newsom is proposing significant support for the Affordable Care Act at the state level, with increased levels of subsidies for consumers and a return of the "individual mandate" for health coverage. Newsom's plan would hike the size of subsidies for those who already receive them, and make California the first state to make subsidies available to middle-income families. "No state has more at stake on the ... (More)
Covered Calif. extends enrollment
December 17, 2018 Leave a Comment
Covered California has extended its enrollment deadline for health insurance that begins Jan. 1. The deadline had been Dec. 15, but the state's Affordable Care Act operation pushed it until Friday, Dec. 21. It cited a U.S. District Court ruling that Obamacare was unconstitutional. The move came after "a surge of interest in enrollment and to ensure consumers have ample time to enroll amid news reports of a legal ruling on the ... (More)
Open enrollment through Jan. 15
October 15, 2018 Leave a Comment
Open enrollment for Covered California health insurance is under way. The key "sign on" period runs from Oct. 15 through Jan. 15. That's two weeks fewer than before, although the state Obamacare operation often finds a reason to extend the deadline a bit. (But don't count on it.) Covered California, as usual, urges consumers of its private health insurance to shop around and see if lower premiums could result. The average premium ... (More)
State uninsured rate at 7.2% low
September 12, 2018 Leave a Comment
California’s uninsured rate for health insurance fell to a record low of 7.2 percent during 2017. That's a decline of 10 percentage points from the pre-Affordable Care Act rate of 17.2 percent, according to numbers out Sept. 12 from the U.S. Census Bureau. California reported the largest decrease of any state over that time period. The report showed that 3.7 million Californians gained health insurance coverage since 2013. Covered ... (More)
Covered Cal: Rates will rise 8.7%
July 20, 2018 Leave a Comment
The inevitable rates increases are in for California's private health insurance operation and the news is good, sort of. Covered California said rates will rise an average of 8.7 percent for 2019. That's less than the dire projections for most of the country, and follows two straight years of double-digit premium-rate hikes in California. The state Obamacare operation termed the increase "a modest rate change for 2019." That's ... (More)
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