Covered California

Covered California is the state’s health insurance marketplace established under the Affordable Care Act.

Through Covered California, the Affordable Care Act offers four transformational benefits California consumers didn’t have before:

• The right to coverage regardless of pre-existing conditions;
• Financial assistance on a sliding scale to better afford coverage;
• Standardized benefits for easy comparison and security in coverage;
• Bargaining power that has already limited premium increases.

Health Access was proud to lead efforts to pass the first-in-the-nation bill to establish a robust exchange under the ACA, making it an “active purchaser” with the ability to negotiate the best value for California consumers and with strong conflict-of-interest provisions so that the health industry isn’t on both sides of the bargaining table.

Since its establishment, Covered California has steadily grown and now enrolls nearly 2 million Californians, by far the largest exchange in the country. Thanks to investments championed by Health Access at the state and federal level, the vast majority of those eligible for Covered California pay less than $10/month.

While there is still more work to do to lower co-pays and deductibles, getting people who don’t qualify for Medi-Cal or job-based coverage enrolled in Covered California is key in the state’s efforts to achieve a more universal, affordable and equitable health care system.