Covered California, the state’s Affordable Care Act insurance exchange, is intensifying efforts to sign people up in areas of the state that have exceptionally high numbers of uninsured residents.
It is targeting specific neighborhoods in communities across the states that Covered California believes are home to low-income residents that would qualify for subsidized coverage but have not signed up. Latino households have been a challenge for it to reach, the agency acknowledges.
Exchange officials released maps showing communities across the state with high numbers of uninsured people, because of their income, likely qualify for subsidized insurance
Peter Lee, Executive Director of Covered California, told Kaiser Health News that focusing on the “hot spots helps us get the word out at a community level where it can make the most difference.”
Covered California estimates that 750,000 residents of the state qualify for health insurance subsidies but are uninsured. It believes an additional 1.4 million residents qualify for Medi-Cal, the state’s Medicaid program.
About 2.5 percent of all Californians are eligible for insurance subsidies but are uninsured. In the communities to be targeted by Covered California the rates of uninsured range from 3.2% to 5.1%.
In these areas Covered California is working with community organizations to host enrollment events, increasing door-to-door canvassing and print and broadcast advertising, and adding storefront offices where people can enroll.