Obamacare Enrollment On Quick Pace As 1st Deadline Nears on Dec 15th!

Earlier today, Covered California hosted a press conference call, reporting that enrollment is moving ahead at a quick pace, with around 300,000 Californians enrolled or in the process of getting enrolled in new coverage, either in Medi-Cal or a private health insurance plan through Covered California.

As reported in the San Jose Mercury News and the Los Angeles Times, nearly 50,000 folks were newly enrolled in Covered California plans, out of 130,000 who were determined eligible and at some point in the process. An additional 160,000 newly applied for Medi-Cal, with 75% already enrolled, and the other 25% in process. These are all new enrollments, not folks renewing existing coverage.

The announcement highlighted that the first deadline of this second enrollment period is less than a week away, on December 15th. Consumers have until December 15th to sign up for coverage to start January 1. The full open enrollment period spans for three months, until February 15th.

Peter Lee highlighted the “ground up” outreach and marketing efforts, from 200 storefronts to a myriad of events around the state. There’s also some help from key leaders, including President Obama himself, raising these deadlines and reminding people to sign up, as he did earlier this week on one of the last episodes of The Colbert Report, in a segment called “To Health in a Handbasket.”