Covered California joined leading health officials in San Diego to encourage enrollment in a quality insurance plan and improve access to address an increased need for behavioral health care across the state.
“The pandemic took a toll on us in so many ways, including our behavioral and mental health, which are critical to our ability to live happy, healthy and productive lives,” said Jessica Altman, executive director of Covered California. “Getting the right behavioral health care starts with making sure people have health insurance with access to quality providers, and that can be done right now through Covered California’s open enrollment.”
Voters in Kansas rejected a proposed state constitutional amendment Tuesday that would have said there was no right to an abortion in the state, according to The Associated Press.
Kansas was the first state to vote on abortion rights since the U.S. Supreme Court handed down its ruling in Dobbs v. Jackson's Women's Health Organization.
President Joe Biden hailed Tuesday's vote and called on Congress to pass a law to restore nationwide abortion rights that were provided by Roe.
"This vote makes clear what we know: the majority of Americans agree that women should have access to abortion and should have the right to make their own health care decisions," Biden said in a statement.
The statewide abortion ban ballot proposal, in a fairly solidly red state, ended up failing by a massive 18 points, with 544,000 voting against it and only 378,00 in favor of it.
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Covered California launched its new television advertising campaign on Monday, to promote enrollment and encourage the uninsured throughout the state to sign up for quality health insurance. The multi-language campaign builds on the successful theme of “This Way to Health Insurance,” which has helped Covered California enroll a record-high 1.7 million people.
“Covered California is reaching out to our state’s diverse population to make sure all Californians know about the increased and expanded financial help that is available to help bring the cost of quality coverage within reach,” said Jessica Altman, executive director of Covered California. “We want to make sure people know that Covered California is here to help them get and pay for quality, brand-name health insurance.”
Back in September, Covered California announced that the weighted average individual market premium increases for 2023 (for unsubsidized enrollees) will be around 5.6%, down slightly from the 6.0% average requested by carriers. However, the press release, besides not including a carrier-level breakout of the rate hikes, also didn't say anything about California's small group market.
Covered California Executive Director Jessica Altman commended President Joe Biden’s administration for finalizing the proposed fix to the “Family Glitch,” an issue that had prevented millions of Americans with unaffordable employer health insurance from getting marketplace coverage through the Affordable Care Act.
“Covered California supports this proposed rule change, which will build on the Affordable Care Act’s vision and intent to expand access to affordable health insurance, by opening the door of coverage to millions of Americans.
This is a new era for the Affordable Care Act, as Covered California prepares to enter its 10th open enrollment period, with increased financial help available for those who need coverage as well as our 1.7 million enrollees.
Back in July, Covered California posted the preliminary 2023 rate changes for ACA individual market healthcare policies. Overall, the weighted average rate hike was around 6.0% across the entire statewide market.
Yesterday, CoveredCA announced that thanks to the Inflation Reducation Act being signed into law by President Biden...
...@CoveredCA is announcing a reduction in its 2023 average rate change from 6% to 5.6%. The 0.4% decrease is due to the Inflation Reduction Act ensuring increased financial help for next year. Renewal begins Oct. 1 and #OpenEnrollment starts Nov. 1 for #ACA coverage.
Unfortunately they haven't posted the rate changes for each individual insurance carrier yet, but assuming it's fairly even across all of them, the premium savings should amount to something like:
The weighted average rate for Covered California’s dental coverage in 2023 will decrease by 1.7 percent, marking the second consecutive year that premiums have gone down for consumers.
More than 294,000 Covered California enrollees have supplemented their health insurance by purchasing optional adult dental coverage, an increase of 28 percent over the previous year.
Eligible consumers can add dental coverage to their plan when they sign up for health insurance during Covered California’s current special-enrollment period, or during open enrollment, which will start this fall.
MICHIGAN: Another One (Mostly) Bites The Dust; 12th CO-OP Drops Off Exchange, May Go Belly-Up
It appears that East Lansing-based Consumers Mutual Insurance of Michigan could wind down operations this year as it is not participating in the state health insurance exchange for 2016.
But officials of Consumers Mutual today are discussing several options that could determine its future status with the state Department of Insurance and Financial Services, said David Eich, marketing and public relations officer with Consumers Mutual.
Consumers Mutual CEO Dennis Litos said: "We are reviewing our situation (financial condition) with DIFS and should conclude on a future direction this week.”
While Eich said he could not disclose the options, he said one is “winding down” the company, which has 28,000 members, including about 6,000 on the exchange.
The Inflation Reduction Act extends the increased financial help initially provided by the American Rescue Plan through the end of 2025.
The increased subsidies expanded health care coverage, leading to record enrollment in California and across the nation, and lowered insurance costs for people who signed up through an Affordable Care Act marketplace.
The landmark legislation will continue to make coverage more affordable at a time when many individuals and families are facing increased challenges in the current economic environment.
