Gov. Gavin Newson announced sweeping proposals to tackle the state’s healthcare needs shortly after taking office on Monday, outlining a dramatic Medi-Cal expansion that would cover young undocumented adults, a requirement that all consumers in the state carry health insurance and increased subsidies for middle-class families to help those who need it.
...Newsom campaigned on a universal healthcare platform and has said the issue would be among his top priorities. His announcement on Monday stopped short of the single-payer system demanded by activists that would cover all residents’ healthcare costs, but was characterized as the first step down that path.
According to the article, Newsom, who just took office a few hours ago, already plans on rolling out his proposed state budget on Thursday, which is expected to include, among other things:
So, it's over, right? Well...not quite. The 2019 ACA Open Enrollment Period officially ended last night...but only in 43 states. In the remaining seven (+DC), Open Enrollment hasn't ended yet. 2019 ACA Open Enrollment is still ongoing for nearly 10% of the population!
In Massachusetts, open enrollment runs through Jan. 23rd, 2019 for coverage starting February 1st
In the District of Columbia and New York, open enrollment runs through Jan. 31st for coverage starting March 1st
Covered California Extends Deadline for Jan. 1 Coverage Until Friday, Dec. 21
Texas District Court’s ruling on the constitutionality of the Affordable Care Act has no impact on Covered California’s open enrollment period.
Covered California is extending today’s deadline to Friday, Dec 21, for consumers who want health care coverage that starts on Jan. 1, 2019.
Consumers who enroll after Dec. 21, and by Jan. 15, will have their coverage start on Feb. 1.
While open enrollment ends in 44 states on Saturday, California is one of seven health insurance marketplaces which will enroll consumers after Dec. 15, serving 25 percent of the U.S. population.
58,000 consumers have signed up since Monday, including 17,000 on Friday.
"Open enrollment is full-steam ahead in California and continues in other states for several more weeks. No one in America should let this TX District Court ruling discourage them from enrolling in health coverage or be worried about using the coverage they have. This case will wind its way through the courts and I’m confident the Supreme Court will once again do the right thing and uphold the Affordable Care Act,"
“Tonight’s district court ruling exposes the monstrous endgame of Republicans’ all-out assault on people with pre-existing conditions and Americans’ access to affordable health care.
Consumer Interest Surges as First Key Deadline Approaches for Covered California and the Individual Market
More than 150,000 new consumers selected a plan through Dec. 12.
Consumer interest is surging, with more than 28,000 consumers selecting a plan during the past three days.
Consumers must sign up by Dec. 15 in order to have their coverage start on Jan. 1, 2019. Open enrollment in California continues through Jan. 15.
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Covered California announced today that 150,191 new consumers signed up for coverage through Dec. 12. Consumer interest is once again surging ahead of a key deadline, with more than 10,000 people signing up on Wednesday, and more than 28,000 selecting a plan within the past three days.
More than 90,500 new consumers selected a plan through Nov. 30.
While plan selections are ahead of the pace set in 2016, when Covered California also delayed its marketing until after Election Day, they are slightly behind the pace set during 2017.
Roughly 1.2 million Covered California enrollees have been renewed for 2019, similar to last year’s totals.
An estimated 1.1 million uninsured Californians are eligible to enroll in Covered California or Medi-Cal. New research shows that 82 percent of uninsured consumers surveyed, who are eligible for financial assistance, do not know that they qualify.
Consumers must sign up by Dec. 15 in order to have their health insurance start on Jan. 1, 2019. Open enrollment in California continues through Jan. 15.
Covered California, the largest state-based ACA exchange for the largest state in the country, actually launched their 2019 ACA Open Enrollment Period over three weeks ago, on October 15th.
They still haven't posted any 2019 enrollment numbers, which I find rather irritating, but they did just send out the following press release regarding a promotional bus tour they're doing which highlights a couple of interesting data points:
Covered California Launches Iconic Bus Tour to Promote Enrollment and Show How “Life Can Change in an Instant”
Yes, that's right...while the 2019 Open Enrollment Period doesn't start for the rest of the country until November 1st, the Golden State has decided to kick things off two weeks early (16 days early, technically): Covered California, the largest state-based ACA exchange, is officially open for business for 2019 enrollment as of today!
In addition, while you can't actually enroll for 2019 coverage in any other state until November 1st, in several states you can window shop to find out what your 2019 policy options and pricing will be, along with estimates about what sort of financial assistance you'll qualify for once you actually do go through the enrollment process.
The states which are already open for window shopping already include:
The official annual ACA Open Enrollment Period (OEP) starting and ending dates have jumped around a lot since the exchanges kicked off back on October 1, 2013.
For the first OEP, people were given 6 months since the technology and the process were brand new to everyone...and thank God they were given the technical mess that the federal exchange (HealthCare.Gov) as well as many of the state-based exchanges experienced at launch. Things were eventually worked out, but not only was that extra time in spring 2014 vitally important, many people still needed some extra time beyond that as well. The official deadline to enroll for 2014 coverage was March 31, but the HHS Dept. gave people who had started their application by then an extra 15-day "overtime" period to complete the process.
For the 2015 OEP, the official dates were from November 15 - February 15th, cutting the time period down to three months. This time there was a one-week "overtime" period tacked onto the end.
For 2016 and 2017, HHS settled on November 1st - January 31st, which seemed to make sense since it was easier to remember: November, December, January.
BREAKING: Governor @JerryBrownGov today signed several #Care4AllCA bills that protects patients and places greater accountability on health insurers now on Gov's desk:#SB910 & #SB1375 to ban/limit "junk" insurance;#AB2499 on MLR; and#AB2472 on a public option study.
