Nearly 100K Households Have Begun Applying for Covered Calif. Plans

On Tuesday, Covered California officials announced that as of Saturday about 94,500 households had started applications for coverage through the state health insurance exchange, the Sacramento Bee's "Capitol Alert" reports (Cadelago, "Capitol Alert," Sacramento Bee, 10/15).

Details

The new figures indicate that more than 50,000 new households have begun applying for coverage since Oct. 5, when officials reported that nearly 44,000 households had partially or fully completed applications (Terhune, Los Angeles Times, 10/15).

Since open enrollment began on Oct. 1, there have been:

Nearly 1.6 million unique visitors to Covered California's website; and

More than 104,000 calls to its call centers ("Capitol Alert," Sacramento Bee, 10/15).

However, officials also reported that:

The number of website visitors decreased from 987,000 during the first week of open enrollment to 603,000 during the second week; and

The number of calls decreased from 59,000 during the first week to 46,000 during the second week.

Enrollment Officers Awaiting Certification

In related news, exchange officials said thousands of navigators -- individuals tasked with educating residents about the exchange -- still are awaiting certification.

About 16,000 navigators are needed statewide to assist consumers in signing up for coverage through the exchanges, according to the Times (Los Angeles Times, 10/15).

During the first 12 days of open enrollment, the exchange has certified:

279 enrollment counselors;

1,295 insurance agents; and

5,287 county eligibility workers.

According to officials, entities still awaiting certification include:

3,824 enrollment counselors;

3,382 insurance agents; and

5,421 county workers.

Peter Lee -- executive director of Covered California -- said certification delays were caused in part by technological problems in the exchange's IT system for training navigators ("Capitol Alert," Sacramento Bee, 10/15). This is part of the California Healthline Daily Edition, a summary of health policy coverage from major news organizations. Sign up for an email subscription