Covered California Rolls into San Diego as Part of 22-stop Bus Tour to Promote Open Enrollment

• “Covered in Art” bus tour will travel 1,300 miles and make stops in cities across California over 6 days to promote enrollment in health insurance.
  
• Local artists will paint permanent murals at community clinics and other locations across the state to promote health and wellness and attract attention to places where Californians can enroll.
  
• Californians will be encouraged to visit CoveredCA.com and check out their options because prices for some may be lower this year.
  

SAN DIEGO, Calif. — Covered California on Thursday continued its statewide bus tour to enroll consumers in health insurance, arriving in San Diego to feature a comprehensive marketing and outreach campaign and showcase a local muralist to promote health and wellness.

“We’ve launched this 22-stop bus tour and our statewide advertising with ads to make sure everyone in California knows there are quality health insurance options available now for 2018,” said Peter V. Lee, executive director of Covered California. “While there’s uncertainty in Washington, the Affordable Care Act is the law of the land and financial help is bringing care within reach for millions whether you live in San Diego or San Marcos.”

Open enrollment, which started yesterday, Nov. 1, and will run through Jan. 31, 2018 in California, is the one time of year when anyone who needs health insurance can enroll without having to meet special qualifying conditions. Consumers should enroll by Dec. 15 for coverage starting Jan. 1, 2018. (Open enrollment in many other states will end after 45 days on Dec. 15).

The “Covered in Art” bus tour will make stops at locations throughout the state where local artists will paint murals to attract attention to enrollment locations and promote health and wellness. At least twelve murals will be painted on locations in communities across the state.

“The ‘Covered in Art’ project is a living demonstration of the fact that health care is local and that Covered California is woven into the fabric of local communities,” Lee said.

The Covered California bus is making its second stop at La Maestra Clinic on Fairmount Avenue. The clinic’s parent group, La Maestra Community Health Centers (LMCHC), is a nonprofit Federally Qualified Health Center in San Diego. For the past 27 years, LMCHC has provided culturally and linguistically competent primary care, including specialty services like behavioral and mental health, chronic disease management and essential support services to men, women and children in San Diego’s most culturally diverse and lowest income communities. La Maestra has enrolled thousands of individuals in coverage available through Covered California, including Medi-Cal.

The mural at La Maestra will feature the words “The Art of Healing” and will be created by San Diego native Sheena Rae Dowling. After college, Dowling returned to San Diego with the desire to help build the arts and culture of the local community using drawing, painting, printmaking, sculpture, installation, video and photography.

“Part of Covered California’s tradition is multi-cultural, multi-lingual marketing and outreach in diverse communities across the state to promote enrollment, and make sure everyone in the state knows there’s help to buy health insurance,” Lee said.

From San Diego Thursday, the bus will travel to Huntington Beach before traveling to Wilmington, Santa Barbara, San Luis Obispo, Bakersfield, Visalia, Fresno, Modesto, Sacramento, San Francisco, Santa Cruz, Salinas, San Jose and Oakland. All told, the Covered California bus will travel more than 1,300 miles.
“Covered California is not standing still,” Lee said. “For the first time, consumers can find resources on our website and even enroll on their cell phones. In addition, we have new tools that make it easier to shop and easier to find resources in other languages.”

Research commissioned by Covered California shows that many people still don’t know there’s financial help to buy health insurance, and those concerned about the future of health exchanges are less inclined to enroll. But Lee said Covered California is solid for 2018.

The art tour is being supplemented by a new statewide advertising campaign, with the message “Life can change in an instant,” to drive home the message that anyone can find themselves suddenly needing health insurance. The advertising campaign, which includes ads in English, Spanish, Cantonese, Mandarin, Korean and Vietnamese, can be viewed here: https://vimeopro.com/coveredcanews/instant-tv.

“We want consumers to know we’re offering the same quality coverage we’ve offered since we opened our doors in 2014,” Lee said. “Don’t let the distant thunder in Washington keep you from getting the financial help available to buy health insurance. Covered California is here for you today and will be here for you tomorrow.”

Covered California’s open enrollment period will continue through Jan. 31, 2018. While open enrollment continues through the end of January, consumers should sign up by Dec. 15 to have coverage starting on Jan. 1, 2018. Consumers interested in learning more about their options should go to CoveredCA.com where they can shop to explore their options or get free in-person assistance in the area where they live. In addition, consumers can call the Covered California service center to enroll at (800) 300-1506.

About Covered California
Covered California is the state’s health insurance marketplace, where Californians can find affordable, high-quality insurance from top insurance companies. Covered California is the only place where individuals who qualify can get financial assistance on a sliding scale to reduce premium costs. Consumers can then compare health insurance plans and choose the plan that works best for their health needs and budget. Depending on their income, some consumers may qualify for the low-cost or no-cost Medi-Cal program.

Covered California is an independent part of the state government whose job is to make the health insurance marketplace work for California’s consumers. It is overseen by a five-member board appointed by the governor and the legislature. For more information about Covered California, please visit www.CoveredCA.com.