COVERED California teamed up with community partners on Monday, Jan. 12, including Asian Americans Advancing Justice – Los Angeles, to announce a final push to get people enrolled for health insurance.
“We stand shoulder to shoulder with our communities,” said Covered California Executive Director Peter V. Lee, in his opening remarks. “Our job is to reach out to these community members who are not covered with health insurance, so that they can stand up and say I’M IN.”
Lee highlighted the importance of health insurance for everyone, especially for AANHPI (Asian American, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander) communities who are too often in the dark about important issues that can benefit them, such as health care.
“We are joining forces today with leaders of Asian-American communities to make sure that we leave no one behind who is eligible for coverage,” Lee said. “We have more work to do! We need to reach out and work from the ground up, starting with our communities.”
The deadline to enroll for coverage starting February, is Thursday, Jan. 15, and the open enrollment period for this year ends Sunday, Feb. 15. Open Enrollment is the one time yearly period when most eligible Californians in need of insurance can shop and sign up for a health plan through the marketplace, and millions can get subsidized health insurance for the upcoming year.
In addition to Covered California, Medi-Cal is available year round for those with a limited or lower income, and includes essential benefits like dental and vision. Those who qualify can have free or low-cost health care through Medi-Cal.
Applying for either a Covered California insurance plan through the vast marketplace or through Medi-Cal has never been easier for consumers. Using the website’s Shop and Compare Tool, users can pick and choose which plan works best for them and at what level. Applying for the insurance is a simple matter of filling out information such as income level and employer/household/federal tax materials through the site or through a Certified Enrollment Counselor or Insurance Agent.
Addressing the fear and myths many immigrant families have about applying for health insurance, Lee also said, “We want to drive home the message that all information you submit is used strictly to determine your eligibility for health insurance programs available under the Affordable Care Act.”
The information provided to apply for health insurance—such as identity, proof of California residence, income, immigration status, and other licenses/reports—is always kept confidential, and is only used to determine eligibility for health insurance plans through Covered California or Medi-Cal.
“We want to remind our community members that they should not be afraid to apply, because their immigration status is strictly confidential and will not be shared with any other government agency, state or federal,” said Advancing Justice – LA President Stewart Kwoh. “We want to provide people with resources they can trust to get the help that they need. Having health coverage will not only provide health care when necessary, so you no longer need to worry if your loved ones get sick, but also will help you avoid paying penalties because most people are now required to have health insurance.”
Covered California also announced its new campaign partnering with community outreach groups to expand and provide helpful information and in-language resources, especially to Asian American families.
Covered California provides basic in-language brochures in over 13 different Asian and Pacific Islander languages, including Tagalog, and is also working on translating its website into a variety of languages to better serve the community.
“We are also working on a national collaborative called the Health Justice Network to provide more storefront enrollment centers throughout central, northern, and southern California,” said Doreena Wong, a director of the Health Access Project through Advancing Justice – LA. “We are collaborating with organization partners to translate a glossary of over 100 common terms for health insurance—big, confusing words like ‘co-pay’ and ‘premium’—to help Enrollment Navigators better explain health insurance to the community as they need, in at least 12 different API languages.”
The most important thing, Lee reminded, is to enroll no later than Sunday, Feb. 15.
“February 15 is an important date—we have a little over one month to make sure that people avail themselves to enroll during this period.”
Lee was also joined California State Treasurer John Chiang, who assured that Covered California would provide an “unprecedented opportunity” for qualified American families.
“We want to provide adequate, strong insurance to both grow California’s economy and move families out of debt and fear,” Chiang said. “[This program] will bring financial security to Californians and their families.”
Search to Involve Pilipino Americans (SIPA) and other Filipino-based community organizations all over California are also providing in-language assistance to those who wish to enroll by the Feb. 15 due date.
“This is an opportunity for all eligible Californians,” Lee concluded, “to have health, prosperity, opportunity, and peace of mind.”
(www.asianjournal.com)
(LA Midweek January 14-16, 2015 Sec. A pg.1)
