Covered California is urging state residents to take a second look at prices, as many have fallen.
The California health insurance exchange is asking uninsured state residents to take a second look at what is available to them, as the new American Rescue Plan has reduced the price of some options.
The federal law could make it notably cheaper to purchase a health plan on Covered California.
According to a new report by Californiahealthline.org, the American Rescue Plan (ARP) has the potential to bring California health insurance into the hands of residents who had not been able to afford it before. This applies to individuals who must purchase their own health plan because it isn’t provided by an employer or by any of the government insurance programs such as Medicaid or Medicare.
The report explained that ARP is providing billions in federal dollars for the reduction of California insurance premiums for people who much buy their own coverage through the Affordable Care Act (ACA). In essence, it is an expansion on the federal tax credit already provided by the ACA. It can be used either up front as a premium discount, or it can be claimed when that year’s taxes are filed.
The ARP assistance is available only through the California health insurance exchange.
It does not apply to people who purchase their individual or family health plans on the open market off the official ACA exchanges. Therefore, Covered California encourages people who have purchased their health plans off the exchange also to have a look at what is available there, as additional savings may now be available even if it wasn’t there before.
Covered California opened a special enrollment period on April 12. This was meant to provide the opportunity for people seeking to take advantage of the new ARP aid to do so. This special enrollment period will continue right through until December, which offers an additional four and a half months over the traditional special enrollment end date of August 15, which is the case on the federally run insurance exchanges.
According to Covered California estimates, the new funds from ARP will create an average monthly California health insurance premiums savings of $180 per household for those enrolled though the exchange. Almost 90 percent of those enrolled through the exchange are already receiving financial assistance and will now be receiving an additional amount through the new law.
