US HHS secretary touts California success as he opens enrollment in federal insurance market
U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra praised Californians and outgoing Covered California leader Peter V. Lee on Monday after he took to the podium to invite all Americans to buy an insurance plan through one of the nation’s Affordable Care Act marketplaces.
Open enrollment launched Monday across the country. It will end Jan. 15 in much of the nation but extends until the end of January in California.
“It’s great to be in a state that really launched on the Affordable Care Act, took it seriously and has helped more Americans get covered than any other state in the nation,” said Becerra, who was California’s attorney general prior to accepting the nomination to lead the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
“As a former member of Congress from Los Angeles, I can tell you that the rate of uninsured in my congressional district, I believe went down more than any congressional district in the state of California — and I think virtually any congressional district in the nation — as a result of the work that was done by the Affordable Care Act.”
Becerra also saluted Lee, who will be stepping down at the end of March after 10 years as the inaugural leader of Covered California, saying: “There are countless Californians who owe, in many cases their lives, certainly their well-being, the peace of mind that they have today, to the work that you did to make sure Covered California was the most successful state-based marketplace in the nation.”
Lee said that, while it’s a bittersweet time for him, he feels an incredible sense of gratitude to his team and a sense of accomplishment.
“Covered California has been working shoulder-to-shoulder with our Medi-Cal program since Day 1 to be part of reducing the rate of the uninsured more than any state in the nation,” Lee said, “but the other thing I’m grateful for is the work that we’re still doing and the work we still have to do. We are very committed to making sure that everyone eligible for coverage gets covered.”
Becerra said President Biden considers health care to be a right and also wants to ensure that every American can access it.
“If your child gets sick and you have to go to the hospital, the other part of your brain (shouldn’t be) thinking: Am I gonna go bankrupt now if I do this?” Becerra said. “The only thing that you should be thinking about when your child needs to go to an emergency room, to a doctor, to hospital is: Am I getting the best care possible? Not: Can I afford to do this. That’s where we’re heading.”
Four out of five Americans who signed up for 2021 coverage in the Affordable Care Act marketplaces, close to 3 million people, paid $10 or less a month for coverage because of subsidies provided in the American Rescue Plan.
Davis resident Jingjing Cai operated a small business that helps couples achieve their dream of an international adoption. When the pandemic hit and international travel shut down, she said, they had to temporarily close up shop.
“We could no longer afford our for our medical insurance we purchased through our business,” she said, “so we turned to cover California. We are so grateful to Covered California for the financial assistance made possible by the American Rescue Plan. This assistance helped us a lot in a very difficult time. Now, we can afford to keep our health care coverage — and with it, the peace of mind knowing we are protected.”
Becerra said that HHS will be getting the message out about the coverage and subsidies in more languages this year and is hiring four times as many navigators as were employed last year to help educate consumers on their options and how to sign up. Covered California also will invest millions in getting the word out.
Lee said the Cais are among more than 1.4 million people, 90% of Covered California enrollees, who are getting financial help today that has dramatically lowered their health care costs for this year 2021.
“Looking to 2022, an estimated 575,000 uninsured Californians could enroll ... and get remarkably affordable coverage,” Lee said, “and about 260,000 Californians who pay for their own insurance directly to their insurance company could switch to Covered California — and likely get the same plan, same doctors, same everything, but save thousands of dollars off what they’re paying right now.”
In 2013, the year before Covered California began offering policies, 16% of Californians were uninsured, according to the California Health Care Foundation, but Lee said that number now stands at 6% as a result of aggressive marketing by his agency and federal financial assistance.
Still, he said, the Covered California team wants to reach the roughly 1.1 million Californians who don’t have insurance.
Need help with signing up? Call (800) 300-1506 or visit www.coveredca.com for free and confidential assistance.
This story was originally published November 1, 2021 at 5:45 PM with the headline "US HHS secretary touts California success as he opens enrollment in federal insurance market."
