Jesus Castro’s Covered California health plan premiums for 2017 are not going up — they are actually going down by about $250 each month. And he couldn’t be happier.
Castro, who is a partner in a safety consulting business and lives in Martinez with his wife, says that he currently pays around $780 a month for a Kaiser Permanente Gold-level plan for him and his wife. But, he says, “Through Covered California, that’s going down to a little more than $500 next year for the same plan. We’re glad about that!”
The fourth open-enrollment period under the Affordable Care Act is underway and continues through Jan. 31, 2017. Californians like Castro who need health insurance will find new ways to shop for coverage and new ways to save.
The message is clear, says Covered California Executive Director Peter V. Lee. “California has built a robust marketplace where insurers are competing for consumers and where there is financial help to buy top-quality insurance.”
It is this kind of information that Covered California is spreading statewide during its third annual open-enrollment tour, which is winding through California and stopping at 27 locations in 11 counties and 21 cities.
Unlike what consumers in other parts of the country are experiencing, in California 92 percent of people shopping for health insurance through Covered California will have three or more health plans to choose from, and none will have fewer than two, Lee said. He also emphasized that 9 out of 10 Covered California consumers receive subsides to help pay their monthly premiums.
With his Covered California health plan, Castro receives a subsidy that pays for more than $1,600 of the monthly premium he would have normally been charged for his family’s health coverage.
For 2017, most consumers can save up to $55 per urgent care visit, and their copays for seeing their primary care doctor will also be lower.
And, for consumers selecting Silver, Gold or Platinum plans, most of their outpatient services like primary care and specialist visits, lab tests, X-rays and imaging are not subject to a deductible. Emergency room visits for these plans are now a flat fee.
Even consumers in Covered California’s most affordable Bronze plans are able to see their doctor or a specialist three times without having to meet their deductible.
These changes for 2017 can help consumers save thousands of dollars.
“We know health care is expensive, so we took steps to make sure consumers who do buy coverage get the care they need without having to first meet their full deductible,” Lee said.
Lee added that terminology such as “deductible” can make enrolling in coverage hard to understand. For years, the Castros were insured through Jesus’ previous employer, but when he became an independent consultant, he found it difficult to make sense of the rules and pricing — so he found a Certified Insurance Agent to help him for free in making the switch to a plan through Covered California.
“When we first started out with trying to enroll in our own health care coverage, it was really hard to figure out,” noted Castro. “It’s complicated. But our insurance agent straightened everything out for us. He’s terrific, and he’s out to help people.”
Free, confidential help to enroll is available from thousands of Covered California’s Certified Insurance Agents and Certified Enrollment Counselors throughout the state. Listings of agents and enrollment counselors in your local area can be found on CoveredCA.com.
