Covered California Extends Enrollment to Help Residents Avoid Penalty

Concerned too many Californians were unaware they would face a hefty fine for not having health insurance, officials on Tuesday loosened a state law meant to push uninsured residents into buying medical coverage.

Covered California, the state’s Affordable Care Act insurance exchange, will allow residents to enroll in a healthcare plan through April 30 to avoid paying the individual mandate, which can be upwards of $2,000 for a family of four and will be assessed when uninsured residents file their taxes in 2021. The state expanded subsidies to offset the burden of paying for medical coverage, allowing a person making up to $74,940 and a family of four with a household income of up to $154,500 to qualify for the help.

Covered California officials said 625,000 new and renewing consumers qualified for subsidies during open enrollment, which initially ended Jan. 31. Open enrollment has now been extended to April 30, a move that the insurance exchange said could help hundreds of thousands of uninsured residents avoid paying the tax penalty. For at least the first three years, the penalty will be used to offset the state’s cost to provide larger health insurance subsidies.

“The penalty is on the books, but no one wants that money,” said Peter Lee, Covered California’s executive director. “We want that to be the economic nudge to get people covered.”

Read the full story on LATimes.com.