Covered California joined health and elected officials in San Diego to encourage enrollment for low-cost health insurance as the deadline for open enrollment approaches.
Open enrollment is the time of year when eligible Californians, regardless of their immigration status, can sign up for health insurance and receive financial help to lower the cost of their coverage. Open enrollment runs through Jan 31, and this year, two-thirds of Covered California’s consumers are eligible for comprehensive health insurance coverage at $10 or less per month.
Californians need to enroll by Dec. 31 to be covered for all of 2023. Covered California officials credit the lower cost of coverage to increased and expanded financial help through the Inflation Reduction Act.
“The pandemic took a toll on us in so many ways, including our behavioral and mental health, which are critical to our ability to live happy, healthy, and productive lives,” said Jessica Altman, executive director of Covered California. “Getting the right behavioral health care starts with making sure people have health insurance with access to quality providers, and that can be done right now through Covered California’s open enrollment.”
Behavioral and mental health services are covered by all Covered California plans. These benefits include behavioral health treatment, like counseling and psychotherapy; inpatient mental and behavioral health services; and substance use disorder treatment for alcohol and chemical dependency.
Through Covered California, the state is seeing record low levels of uninsured residents, and record levels of enrollment, which is now at 1.7 million people. An estimated 1 million Californians do not have health insurance and are eligible to get covered at a low cost or at no cost through Covered California or Medi-Cal.
According to the Chairman of the San Diego County Board of Supervisors, Nathan Fletcher, approximately 127,00 individuals in the region are receiving health care, but there are 79,00 people who are eligible but remain uninsured.
“If you get Covered California, they'll take care of your leg if it breaks. It will also cover a checkup, the flu shot, a physical, or any of those array of things that you normally get," Fletcher said. "Health includes your mental health. Health includes any challenges you may have struggled with. Covered California will cover that just the same.”
According to California Health Interview Survey, one out of every four California adults needed professional treatment in 2021 to deal with emotional or mental health issues or to address alcohol or drug use, compared to 21.6 percent in 2019. The survey also found that more adults also reported that their mental health impaired their work performance, social life, and relationships with family and friends.
Visit the Covered California website to see if you may be eligible.
While you can enroll online, there are also more than 11,000 enrollment partners locally who can help you to sign up for Covered California, either in-person or over the telephone.
