BARBARA BOXER
UNITED STATES SENATOR
In March 2010, Congress passed, and the President signed, comprehensive health reform into law. Millions of Americans are already benefiting from the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. To see all of the law's benefits, keep reading or click here.
Medi-Cal
Those making up to 133% of the federal poverty level (about $15,000 for an individual or $31,000 for a family of four) can get coverage at virtually no cost under Medi-Cal, our state's Medicaid program. Thanks to the Medicaid expansion in the Affordable Care Act, nearly 1.4 million more Californians will be able to get the health care they need and deserve. To find out if you qualify or to apply, click here.
Covered California Health Exchange
Californians now have access to new affordable health insurance for their families through the state marketplace, Covered California. Covered California is an easy-to-access marketplace where people can compare health plans and buy health insurance that works best for them, their family and their budget.
You can shop for these plans by phone at 888-975-1142, by going online at www.coveredCA.com, in person, or by mail.
If you already have insurance you like through work or a public program like Medicare, you keep it. But if you're uninsured or you purchase your own insurance but want to look for a better deal, you can buy quality coverage through Covered California.
Through Covered California, you can:
Compare health insurance plans side by side to find the one that is best for you.
Determine whether you are eligible for financial assistance to help reduce your premiums.
Fill out an application to enroll yourself, your family, or your employees in a health plan.
With just one easy application, Covered California can help you determine if you or your family are eligible for Medi-Cal or financial benefits through the exchange.
The open enrollment period will end on March 31, 2014, and you must purchase health insurance during this open-enrollment period to obtain coverage in 2014.
Click here to apply today.
If you are a small business owner with fewer than 50 employees, Covered California's Small Business Health Options Program (SHOP) can assist you in getting you and your employees insurance coverage.
The insurance marketplace levels the playing field for small business owners by giving you access to more plans that are part of an insurance pool made up of all small businesses in California, offering many of the advantages of large-business insurance pools – including purchasing power, lower costs, reduced premiums, and more health plan choices. Through Covered California's SHOP, small businesses will be able to offer a choice of plans to their employees, something that few small employers have been able to do before now.
If you're a small business owner with fewer than 25 employees, you may also qualify for tax credits that can cover up to half the cost of insuring your workers. Covered California can help you calculate those costs and see if you qualify.
Click here to apply or learn more.
Of course, that's not all the health care law does—millions of Californians have benefited already from reforms in the Affordable Care Act.
Three million young people nationwide, including more than 435,000 young adults in California, have gained health insurance because they can stay on their parent's plan up to age 26.
71 million Americans with private insurance, including more than 8 million Californians, have received free preventative care such as life-saving cancer screenings, regular checkups, contraception, and immunizations.
Insurers can no longer cancel your health insurance because you get sick.
No lifetime limits on your coverage.
Those are just a few of the ways the Affordable Care Act is improving health care quality and coverage for Californians. To read more about how the health care law is protecting you, visit www.healthcare.gov.
Health care costs are growing at the slowest rate in over 50 years.
The law is holding insurance companies accountable for unreasonable rate hikes. Now, if your insurance company wants to raise the cost of premiums by 10% or more, it has to publicly explain why.
Because of health reform, insurance companies now have to spend at least 80 percent of insurance premiums on medical care - not paperwork or overhead - or they have to refund the difference. Last year, 8.5 million people across the county received rebate checks from their insurance company including 1.4 million people in California.
To learn more about how the health care law holds insurance companies accountable and helps keep your insurance costs down, visit www.healthcare.gov.
Insurance companies can't deny coverage or charge more for Americans with pre-existing conditions.
Insurers can no longer charge women more than men for the same coverage.
Insurance companies can no longer impose arbitrary dollar limits on the amount of health care you can get in a single year, ensuring that those who need it the most cannot max out their health insurance.
To learn more about the new reforms, visit www.healthcare.gov.