The first wave of renewal notices for individuals with health insurance throughCovered California are going out this week, executive director Peter Lee announced at a news conference Thursday.
Open enrollment starts Nov. 15 and ends Feb. 15, 2015, but there will be some differences this time around.
More than 1.1 million Californians currently enrolled can keep existing plans — or shop around for a better deal — and changes have been made to ensure things work more smoothly.
The online enrollment system at coveredca.com has been improved and the online chat program has been expanded. Covered California has almost doubled call-center staff and added surge capacity. Consumers can pay the first premium when signing up for coverage and more than 200 storefront centers will be open across the state to boost enrollment.
Sacramento Covered’s location at 5251 Valley Hi Drive in Sacramento was touted by Lee as a storefront option. The organization has eight locations, and consumers should call 916-414-8333 to make an appointment at the one most convenient, certified enrollment counselor Lizette Rodriguez later said.
The goal for this second round of open enrollment is 500,000 new sign-ups. The final number for first-year enrollment is 1,140,000, or 81 percent of the projected 1.4 million figure. The larger number, released last spring, reflects people who signed up and picked a plan. The final number reflects people who paid their premium and actually got covered.
The changes announced Thursday stem from soul searching over problems identified in the first open enrollment. Read a PDF of a report on lessons learned.
Date: October 17, 2014