In preparation for the final throes of the Affordable Care Act, which requires all Americans to have health insurance by Jan. 1, 2014, a health fair on the Laney College campus invited members of the community to have their questions about the future of healthcare answered.
The act, sometimes referred to as Obamacare, requires insurance companies to offer comprehensive coverage to all citizens, including those with preexisting conditions.
California has continuously pioneered America’s healthcare coverage assistance programs with Covered California (CC), a state agency providing “objective information” about every participating healthcare provider, according to the NAACP’s Gayle Akins, who coordinates the healthcare agency’s northern California region. Akins spoke at a forum discussing healthcare options at the health fair.
California State Assemblymember Rob Bonta also spoke at the forum, as well as Ingrid Lamirault of Alameda Alliance for Health and Sherry Hirota, president of Asian Health Services, which provides ongoing healthcare services to Laney students in the Wellness Center.
Director of Alameda County Health Care Services Agency Alex Briscoe, who was expected at the panel, did not show.
Major participating Bay Area healthcare providers include Kaiser Permanente, Blue Shield, Blue Cross, and Health Net.
Alameda Alliance for Health and Chinese Community Health Plan are also participating, though some big names, like United Healthcare and Aetna, are not.
For those who already have coverage elsewhere, CC makes no direct changes to coverage plans outside of their network. Plans within the program, however, charge monthly premiums on a sliding scale.
Like other insurance companies, CC features a calculator on their website for Californians to compare prices with other agencies.
“Even when you look at the Cadillac of care plans in this program, premium plans are 40 percent less than what I spend as an employer,” said Ramsell Corporation CEO Eric Flowers. Ramsell provides low-income healthcare and HIV screening services throughout Alameda County.
CC is working to entice Californians into their camp. As of Sept. 28, $2708 per month was the current average monthly income for a family of four to be eligible for discounted rates. Come Oct. 1, that criteria dropped to $1,963, and is rumored to continue dropping as competition heats up between rival companies.
Unfortunately, but not surprisingly, no free plans are currently being offered. Anywhere.
For the groundswell of Californians with fluid or nonexistent income, like freelancers or the unemployed, options within the program get a bit more complicated. Job seekers who choose CC will be dropped as soon as their income bracket rises above the allotted amount.
With approximately 57,000 Alameda County residents currently unemployed, even $20 in monthly premiums can feel like an extravagant commitment. As the holiday season fast approaches, wallets across the county can prepare themselves for a long, hungry winter.
Anyone lagging on purchasing coverage after Jan. 1 runs the risk of being charged a $95 fee, which is tracked by the IRS and accrues almost exponentially over time.
With 1.4 million Californians currently uninsured, getting everyone on a plan in less than three months will take Sisyphean efforts from government officials as well as healthcare providers.
Information about Covered California is available in 13 languages online at www.coveredCA.com, or by phone at 800–300–1506.