Consumers Flock to Covered California Website and Service Centers as Open Enrollment Begins Includes Low Cost Medi-Cal. #CaHealth

Friday, October 18, 2013

Consumers Flock to Covered California Website and Service Centers as Open Enrollment Begins Includes Low Cost Medi-Cal. #CaHealth

State’s New Health Benefit Exchange Received Thousands of Calls and Millions of Page Views since Launch Day

94,500 Applications Started Since Oct. 1, 2013
We’re two weeks into open enrollment at Covered California and nearly 100,000 Californians have started applications for health coverage. Call (800) 300-1506 before Dec. 15 to get coverage beginning Jan. 1, 2014. Open enrollment continues until March 31, 2014.

It takes less than an hour to enroll in a Covered California health plan by phone. Service centers are open weekdays 8 a.m. - 8 p.m. and Saturday 8 a.m. - 6 p.m. Call today: 800-300-1506.

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Covered California™ officials thrilled with a very strong consumer response, since the historic first day that California consumers have been able to shop for, compare and enroll in affordable health plans or apply for no-cost or low-cost Medi-Cal through the state’s new health benefit marketplace.

Calls to Covered California Service Centers and visits to Covered California Web pages from enthusiastic consumers were extremely high throughout the first day. Some 5 million page views were made to the Covered California website by 3 p.m. The page views averaged 5,000 per minute and peaked at 16,000 per minute.

Also by 3 p.m. Covered California had logged in some 17,000 phone calls to its Service Centers.

To ensure that consumers seeking health coverage through Covered California. Consumers will have the ability to enroll by Dec. 15, 2013, in order to ensure coverage starting Jan. 1, 2014, and after that they can still get insurance until open enrollment concludes on March 31, 2014.

For the first two weeks of open enrollment, more than 1.5 million unique visits were made towww.CoveredCA.com. The Service Center has handled more than 100,000 calls during the same period. From Oct. 1 through Oct. 12, more than approximately 94,500 applications were started.

Total enrollment for October will be released in November.

Covered California is an independent part of the state government whose job is to make the new market work for California’s consumers. It is overseen by a five-member board appointed by the Governor and the Legislature. For more information on Covered California, please visit www.CoveredCA.com.

About Covered California

Covered California is the state’s marketplace for the federal Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. Covered California was charged with creating a new health insurance marketplace in which individuals and small businesses can get access to affordable health insurance plans. With coverage starting in 2014, Covered California will help individuals determine whether they are eligible for premium assistance that will be available on a sliding-scale basis to reduce insurance costs or whether they are eligible for low-cost or no-cost Medi-Cal. Consumers can then compare health insurance plans and choose the plan that works best for their health needs and budget. Small businesses will be able to purchase competitively priced health insurance plans and offer their employees the ability to choose from an array of plans and may qualify for federal tax credits.

CFN - California Fire News 2013

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How fires get their names

Every year in California thousands of wildfires start throughout the state. In most cases, the dispatch center sending the initial resources to a wildland fire will designate a name for the fire, but the first on scene engine or fire official can also name the incident. Fires are usually named for the area in which they start – a geographical location, local landmark, street, lake, mountain, peak, etc. Quickly naming the fire provides responding fire resources with an additional locater, and allows fire officials to track and prioritize incidents by name. For example during the Southern California Fire Siege of 2003, the largest wildland fire in California history, the Cedar Fire in San Diego County, was named after the Cedar Creek Falls area where it started. The destructive Old Fire, which burned during the same time period in San Bernardino County, was named after the road along which it started - Old Waterman Canyon Road.

CAL FIRE is the largest fire department in California and the second largest fire department in the United States. CDF - CAL FIRE Firefighters answer the call more than 300,000 times a year. CAL FIRE Firefighters make up the fire department for 30 of our 58 counties in California and more than 100 local communities. We serve as the incident command during many of California’s most serious disasters. CAL FIRE Firefighters respond to many various types and forms of calls ranging from structural fires, to auto accidents, to earthquakes, to floods, to the spilling of hazardous materials, to every conceivable disaster; CAL FIRE answer's the calls. CAL FIRE is the largest fire department in California and the second largest fire department in the United States . CAL FIRE firefighters protect 33 million acres of State Responsibility Area (SRA). We have over 4,000 members within CAL FIRE and CAL FIRE is associated with the California Professional Firefighters (CPF) and the International Association of Firefighters (IAFF).

CFN - CALIFORNIA FIRE NEWS - CAL FIRE NEWS

Friday, October 18, 2013