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Written by: Covered California

Published: 24 January 2020

SACRAMENTO – Covered California announced new enrollment data as it moved into the final week of open-enrollment and continued to reach out to consumers about the new state penalty and additional financial help that went into effect with the new year.

As of Wednesday, Jan. 22, more than 318,000 consumers had newly signed up for health insurance through Covered California during the current open-enrollment period, which surpassed last year’s total of 295,000.

“With one week to go in open enrollment, Covered California has surpassed last year’s open enrollment total, but thousands are signing up every day and we’re not done yet,” said Covered California Executive Director Peter V. Lee. “Californians have until midnight on Jan. 31 to sign up and not only avoid paying a penalty to the Franchise Tax Board but — for almost a million Californians — get new help from the state to lower their health care costs.”

The open-enrollment period runs through Jan. 31. It is the one time of the year when consumers can freely sign up for coverage without having to experience a qualifying life change. People who sign up by the deadline will have their coverage start on Feb. 1.

Having a health insurance plan in place this year is critical because of a new law that the state of California enacted that requires Californians to have coverage in 2020. Those who can afford coverage, but choose to go without it, could face a penalty when they file their taxes with the California Franchise Tax Board in 2021. The penalty can be more than $2,000 for a family of four.

“We do not want Californians to write a check to the Franchise Tax Board when they could get coverage that is way more affordable than they think,” Lee said. “This year there is new financial help that will help nearly one million people lower the cost of their coverage.”

A recent survey released by Covered California, Californians’ Understanding of the Mandate to Have Health Coverage and the Awareness of Financial Help, found that many people, particularly the uninsured, are unaware of the new penalty and additional financial help.

Among the findings:

– Many Californians reported being unaware of the new requirement to have health coverage in 2020 or face a penalty, including a majority of the uninsured (56 percent).

– Among the uninsured, 62 percent are unaware that Covered California offers financial help to help pay for health insurance. In addition, only 27 percent of the uninsured are aware that Californians can receive even more financial help than ever before for health coverage.

“The new state subsidies and the requirement to have coverage are the two biggest changes affecting individuals who do not have employer coverage since Covered California first opened our doors in 2014 and we want to make sure consumers know that health insurance could be more affordable than they think,” Lee said. “People need to take action by next Friday, so they do not get caught paying a significant penalty when they file their taxes a year from now.”

In addition to the new state penalty California also expanded the amount of financial help available to many consumers, including a first-in-the-nation program to help middle-income consumers afford coverage.

The new state subsidies could extend to an individual making up to $74,940 and a family of four with a household income of up to $154,500.

Right now, the average subsidy for eligible consumers earning less than 400 percent of the federal poverty level is $447 per month; the average state subsidy for eligible middle-income consumers is $469 per month.

Covered California’s open-enrollment period runs through Jan. 31. Consumers can easily find out if they are eligible for financial help and see which plans are available in their area by entering their ZIP code, household income and the ages of those who need coverage into Covered California’s Shop and Compare Tool.

Those interested in learning more about their coverage options can:

– Visit www.CoveredCA.com.
– Get free and confidential in-person assistance, in a variety of languages, from a certified enroller.
– Have a certified enroller call them and help them for free.
– Call Covered California at 800-300-1506.

“Californians owe it to themselves to take a few minutes of their day to see whether they qualify for financial help from the federal government, the state, or both,” Lee said. “Visit CoveredCA.com and check out your options before the end of the month.”

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Written by: Elizabeth Larson

Published: 22 January 2020

SACRAMENTO – Assemblymember Cecilia Aguiar-Curry (D-Winters) on Tuesday introduced Assembly Bill 1965 to require that the State Family Planning, Access, Care and Treatment Program, or Family PACT, cover the costs of the human papillomavirus, or HPV, vaccine.

The California Family PACT Program provides comprehensive family planning services to approximately 1.1 million low-income residents through a network of over 2,200 public and private providers.

Services provided include comprehensive education, assistance, and health services related to family planning for both men and women.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, about 14 million Americans become infected with HPV each year.

While some HPV infections will go away on their own, infections that don’t go away can cause certain types of cancer. In fact, HPV is a leading cause of cervical cancer, which is one of the most preventable cancers.

There is no cure for HPV, but a vaccine exists to protect against infection from the start. Since the vaccination has been in use, HPV infections and cervical pre-cancers have dropped significantly.

The CDC says as many as 93 percent of cervical cancers could be avoided simply by screening and receiving the HPV vaccine.

AB 1965 would require that the Family PACT program include the HPV vaccine within its covered health services.

As a common, but preventable, disease which infects both males and females, it’s critical to take every possible precaution to prevent the spread of HPV. The federal government has approved the use of these funds for this purpose. In California, Aguiar-Curry said the state isn’t exercising this authority to take full advantage of our federal funding, forcing patients to pay out-of-pocket or forego such care.

“We have a proven cancer-prevention treatment available to Californians,” said Aguiar-Curry. “What’s more, it’ll be paid for by drawing down federal health care funding. If we let another year go by without offering access to critical HPV and cancer prevention coverage in Family PACT, more young people will contract HPV, meaning more young people may get cancer.”

Family PACT targets low-income, uninsured Californians for essential health services. The program includes family planning counselling, screening, testing and treatment. HPV- prevention treatments are consistent with the intent of the program and its intended health outcomes.

Assemblymember Aguiar-Curry continued, “Cervical cancer screenings are standard reproductive health care, and your access to reproductive health, cancer screening, and prevention shouldn’t be restricted. California’s health advocates agree, requiring this coverage in Family PACT will save lives. We must act now.”

Key partners on this legislation -- Planned Parenthood Affiliates of California, the California Medical Association, and Essential Access Health – also weighed in:

"Access to critical care like cancer prevention measures and screenings shouldn’t be dictated by who you are, where you live, or what type of insurance coverage you have. Cervical cancer prevention and screenings are part of the full spectrum of reproductive health care, and reproductive health care shouldn’t be treated any differently from all health care," said Jodi Hicks, CEO/President of Planned Parenthood Affiliates of California. "We thank Assembylember Aguiar-Curry for recognizing the importance of the HPV vaccine and are proud to stand with her and the other supporters of this bill to expand insurance coverage for it."

“We are proud to support Assemblymember Aguiar-Curry in taking this important step to prevent the spread of this common but preventable cancer-causing infection,” said Shannon Udovic-Constant, M.D., Vice-Chair of the Board of Trustees of the California Medical Association.

“The HPV vaccine can help prevent many forms of cancer, but remains out of reach for far too many across the state,” said Julie Rabinovitz, President and CEO of Essential Access Health. “Thanks to Assemblymember Aguiar-Curry’s leadership, we have an opportunity to ensure that all Californians can access this safe and effective vaccine – regardless of their income, health insurance, or immigration status."

Aguiar-Curry represents the 4th Assembly District, which includes all of Lake and Napa Counties, parts of Colusa, Solano and Sonoma Counties, and all of Yolo County except West Sacramento.

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Written by: Elizabeth Larson

Published: 18 January 2020

SACRAMENTO – The Healthy California for All Commission will hold its first meeting Jan. 27, beginning its work to develop a plan for advancing progress toward achieving a health care delivery system for California that provides coverage and access through a unified financing system, including, but not limited to a single-payer financing system.

The commission’s 13 voting members include California Health and Human Services Secretary Mark Ghaly, eight gubernatorial appointees and four legislative appointees. There are also five ex-officio, non-voting members.

At the first meeting, commission members will consider the history of health reform in California and take stock of health care in the state today.

The meeting will take place beginning at 10 a.m. in the East End Complex Auditorium, 1500 Capitol Ave., Sacramento.

The commission’s agenda is here.

More information is available on the Healthy California for All website.