According to the latest information, approximately 728k have signed up through Covered California so far. This is more than halfway toward meeting the original projection of 1.3 million for individual policies by the March 31^st enrollment deadline, per federal data released last Wednesday.  Six weeks remain until the end of enrollment, and exchange director Peter Lee said last Monday that he expects March to be a very busy time as people try to enroll before the deadline.

Future Improvements

In order to help the overwhelming calls to the exchange, Lee said that an additional 250 customer service representatives have started training this past week at the organization’s Fresno call center. An additional 100 will begin training within a few weeks Lee also said. That will bring the total call center workers to approximately 900.

Lee said he is aware of the frustrations of the website and long waits on the phone, and he is hoping that adding the additional staff will cut the wait time in half, though ultimately, “I would love to bring it down to 30 seconds,” he said.

In regards to the problems related to the doctor directory, Covered California has taken down the directory, and has asked the insurers that provided the information to poll their doctors and check for accuracy.  “A number of them have reached out four or five times,” Lee said.  For now, consumers will need to check if their doctor is covered through their carrier’s website, or call the doctor directly before buying a policy.

Other data related to California’s exchange contained in the federal report:

• 54 percent of those signing up are women and 46 percent men, about the same as the national average.
• Of the plans selected, 23 percent are bronze (compared to 19 percent nationally); 63 percent are silver (62 percent nationally); 7 percent are gold 7 (12 percent nationally); and 7 percent are platinum, which is the same as the national figure.
• 87 percent of those who selected a plan are eligible for a subsidy, while the rest are not. Nationally, it’s 82 percent and 18 percent.
• 850,000 Californians who went to the exchange were determined to be eligible for Medicaid, the state-federal insurance program for low income people.

For more information about health care, feel free to contact us at Mertens Insurance or 1-888-503-7180. You can also come into one of our three locations in Lincoln, CA, Grass Valley, CA or Yuma, AZ. Follow us on Google+! All of our company family members are certified in Covered CA and want to help you better understand your options.