Covered California may not reach its enrollment goal this year
California may be falling short of its goal to enroll 1.7 million people into its health insurance exchange, called Covered California. The state has been heavily promoting its insurance exchange, hoping to raise awareness of the availability of health insurance coverage for those that do not have it. During the last open enrollment period, the state managed to enroll hundreds of thousands of people into the exchange, but enrollment rates have slowed considerably during the last days of the latest open enrollment period.
1.3 million people currently receive health insurance through Covered California
According to state records, Covered California currently has 1.3 million people enrolled, 400,000 less than the state’s goal. The current open enrollment period is coming to a close, which means that people will not be able to enroll in Covered California and find insurance coverage through the state’s exchange. Instead, they will have to find coverage in the private market. Those that do not have coverage will face fines from the federal government.
State may choose to focus on marketing more for the next open enrollment period
Though the state may fall short of achieving its goal of having 1.7 million people enrolled in Covered California, this is not likely to have a significant impact on the exchange itself. Next open enrollment period may see a greater focus on marketing efforts in order to boost awareness of the exchange and the services that it offers. The state may also bring more attention to the availability of federal subsidies, which can significantly offset the cost of health insurance policies.
Some states find major success in promoting their insurance exchanges
Exchanges throughout the United States have managed to make progress in enrolling more people. Some states have surpassed their enrollment goals, while others have seen relatively slow enrollment. According to the Department of Health and Human Services, the majority of those that have signed up for coverage through exchanges are eligible to receive subsidies from the federal government to cover the cost of their insurance policies.