The first open enrollment deadline for Covered California, the California health insurance marketplace, is fast approaching on December 31.
People already registered for Covered California must renew every year during the open enrollment period of November 1 and January 15. If you don’t renew or sign up by then, you will not only be without medical coverage for the rest of the year but also risk facing a steep fine when you do your taxes next year.
If there have been no changes, people don’t have to change anything on their applications.
But, if there has been a change, whether that be a new family member, a reduction or increase in income, or want to change their insurance plan, they must speak with Azhalia Rosas, Membership Development Coordinator at Clinica Romero.
Such changes also allow them to renew their Covered California inscription outside of the open enrollment period. Other changes that will enable them are if they lose their health insurance for any reason, lose their jobs if they move from another state, or if they were recently released from jail.
It’s also important that they sign up as soon as possible for coverage to begin sooner too. If you register and make the first payment before the end of the year, coverage will begin on January 1.
If you do it by January 15 and make their first payment before the end of that month, coverage will begin on February 1.
“If you haven’t made the first payment, coverage will begin on March 1,” Rosas noted.
There’s also a bonus for registering on time: you avoid a fine when doing your income taxes.
“If people don’t have medical coverage or Medi-Cal, they can face a fine that depends on your income and the number of people in your family, which can range from $800 to $2,500,” Rosas said.
DOCUMENTS NEEDED
To qualify for Covered California you must have TPS (Temporary Protected Status), be a permanent resident or citizen. This year, those under DACA (Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals) are also eligible.
To process their Covered California application, you must present the previous year’s income taxes, check stubs, or other documents showing proof of income.
These documents and the number of family members will determine if you qualify for Covered California or Medi-Cal.
In some cases, “some members of the same family will qualify for Medi-Cal and others for Covered California,’ Rosas says. “The parents may qualify for Covered California because their incomes surpass the limits but their children will continue under Medi-Cal.”
“Each case is specific. It all depends on income, the type of family and how many people are in the family,” Rosas says. “They need to come and ask. We won’t know for sure until we file the application.”
PAYMENTS BASED ON INCOME
Payment and subsidies for the Covered California insurance plans vary depending on income and family size. About 90 percent of people who have enrolled with Covered California get financial help. Some families will have a zero monthly premium but they will have co-payments for doctor’s visits, medicine, to see a specialist or a visit to the emergency room that run from $5 to up to $90.
It’s important to remember that Covered California only covers the medical part; if you need vision and dental, you must pay apart for that.
For those who rather pay the fine than the monthly premiums for health insurance coverage because they think they might not need it, Rosas reminds them that you never know when you might need it.
“We don’t know when we’re going to have an emergency, and Covered California is not retroactive,” Rosas says. “We can’t say ‘I’m going to get it this month and it will cover me for the last three months like Medi-Cal’. With Covered California, if you don’t have it and you have a health emergency, you’re not going to be covered.”
“It’s important to have medical coverage, even if it’s the most basic.”
For more information
(213) 989-7700 Ext. 2845
It’s time to enroll in Covered California. This year, more Californians can get coverage
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