Covered California Joins African American Health and Community Leaders to Promote Enrollment, Improve Access to Care and Address Disparities in the Black Community

 

LOS ANGELES, Calif. — Covered California joined leading Black and African American health leaders from across the state to encourage enrollment into a quality insurance plan, improve access to care and discuss the steps being taken to address disparities in this community.

“A core part Covered California’s mission is to improve health care quality and reduce the disparities that have plagued our communities of color for far too long,” said Jessica Altman, executive director of Covered California. “One way to lower disparities, is to make sure that everyone has access to quality health care coverage, and those that need health insurance can do that now through Covered California’s open enrollment.”

What You Need to Know

The roundtable and wellness fair took place on Nov. 29 at Inglewood’s Center of Hope Church. The guests included (from left to right) Sonya Young Aadam of the California Black Women’s Health Project; Altman; Dr. Sylvia Drew Ivie of Charles R. Drew University; Latricia Mitchell of the Los Angeles NAACP, Rhonda Smith of the California Black Health Network; and Dr. Jerry Abraham of Kedren Health.

Open enrollment is the time of year when eligible Californians can sign up for health insurance and receive financial help to lower the cost of their coverage. Thanks to the increased and expanded financial help made available through the Inflation Reduction Act, two-thirds of Covered California’s consumers are eligible for comprehensive health coverage at a cost of $10 or less per month.

“Health care should be a right and not a privilege,” Smith said. “Being able to have low-cost but high-quality health care is an important first step in addressing health equity.”

Dramatic Gains in Coverage

The Black and African American community has made dramatic gains in coverage since Covered California opened its doors. A record-high 1.7 million people are currently enrolled in Covered California, which has seen its overall enrollment grow by more than 40 percent since its inaugural year, including a 46 percent increase in the number of Black and African American consumers.

As a result, the latest data shows the uninsured rate has fallen dramatically since Covered California began offering coverage. According to the California Health Insurance Survey, the uninsured rate among Black and African Americans has fallen by two-thirds, from 12.4 percent in 2013 to 4 percent in 2021.

“We partnered with Covered California to make sure that everyone in our community has access to resources to keep them safe, especially throughout the pandemic,” said Dr. Abraham. “Meeting our Black community and our African American community where they are is going to make fundamental and seismic shifts toward achieving that health equity and racial justice that our communities here in California deserve.”

Signing Up for Coverage Is Easy

Consumers can discover their options by visiting CoveredCA.com, where they can easily find out if they qualify for financial help and see the coverage options in their area. All they need to do is enter their household income, ZIP code, household size, the number of people who need coverage and their ages into the calculator on Covered California’s homepage.

In addition, those interested in learning more about their coverage options can also:

• Get free and confidential assistance over the phone, 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. 

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.