Covered California extends deadline to sign up for health insurance (w/video)

The state’s health insurance marketplace, Covered California, has extended the deadline for residents trying to obtain individual medical coverage beginning next year.

People who initiated the Covered California application process by the original deadline of Dec. 15 will have until Sunday to complete the process and pick a health plan, state health officials said Tuesday. Health coverage will still begin Jan. 1 for those who meet the new deadline.

Roy Kennedy, a Covered California spokesman, said the state health exchange will examine each application on a “case-by-case” basis to determine if people qualify for the extension. In some cases, he said, those who started the process with a local insurance broker or enrollment specialist - but did not complete it - may qualify for the extension.

“We’re encouraging those people to visit any one of many locations we have” for help, Kennedy said. Assistance, he said, can be found at numerous nonprofit organizations throughout the state contracted by Covered California to provide enrollment assistance, as well as certified insurance agents and brokers.

Also, some county social service eligibility workers have been trained to provide assistance.

Covered California is the state health insurance marketplace set up under President Barack Obama’s Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare. Individuals and families who purchase insurance through the state health exchange may qualify for financial assistance to pay for insurance.

The amount of financial help is based on an individual’s or family’s household income. Those whose incomes fall below a certain income threshold may also qualify for Medi-Cal, the state’s Medicaid program.

For example, a family of four with a household income below $32,913 would qualify for Medi-Cal. However, the family could receive financial assistance to help pay for insurance premiums if their household income is between $32,913 and $95,400.

George Heath, a Healdsburg-based insurance broker, said the extension will give people more time to complete their applications. But he worries that people who wait until Sunday will have only a few days to hit a Dec. 26 deadline for making the first payment for coverage beginning Jan. 1.

Heath said he is also concerned about whether Covered California has the capacity to process more applications as a result of the extension.

“The problem is they were already telling us they were having processing problems,” Heath said.

Kennedy, the Covered California spokesman, said the state health exchange this year increased its website’s capacity to meet demand, a lesson learned from last year’s online snafus. The agency also increased its customer service capacity by increasing the number of call centers, he said.

“We knew we had people who experienced problems with the website last year, people had trouble enrolling, and we made improvements over the summer,” Kennedy said.

Individuals and families who can afford to purchase insurance for next year but do not could face a tax penalty. In 2015, the penalty is the larger of two formulas:

$325 for each adult and $162.50 for each child, up to $975 per family, or;

2 percent of the family’s income over the $20,600 filing threshold for 2015.

For more information on where to obtain enrollment assistance visit: www.coveredca.com/get-help/local

You can reach Staff Writer Martin Espinoza at 521-5213 or martin.espinoza@pressdemo?crat.com. On Twitter @renofish.