FEATURE ARTÍCULO
The Next Few Weeks Are Key to Renew or Get Health Insurance NORTH COUNTY INFORMADOR ASKED TRUECARE TO HELP ANSWER YOUR QUESTIONS ABOUT HEALTH COVERAGE FOR YOU AND YOUR FAMILY
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ore Californians than ever are eligible for medical insurance—through Covered CA, Medi-Cal or Medicare. If you have insurance, you must act NOW, or you might lose coverage. If you don’t have it yet, don’t miss out on getting the best insurance coverage for you and your family. Leticia Vera, Director of Patient Retention and Engagement at TrueCare, reminded us, “Having insurance gives us peace of mind.” Yes, it can be confusing and overwhelming to understand health insurance, but there is FREE assistance out there for you. You don’t have to do it alone. Here are some frequently asked questions Leticia at TrueCare helped us answer for you.
What is Medi-Cal? A state program that covers healthcare for California residents if you qualify, which can include criteria such as income or family size. Insurance can be free or very low cost for eligible individuals. Medi-Cal doesn’t have an open enrollment period and you can apply at any time.
What is Medicare? Medicare is the federal health insurance program for people who are 65 or older, or for certain younger people with disabilities. If you or your family member are getting close to turning 65, you need to start choosing a Medicare plan. TrueCare has its own trustworthy specialists who will help you for free. You want to talk to an expert source who can walk you through all the information and explain the benefits.
How does Covered California work? Covered California is NOT health insurance. Covered California is a marketplace for choosing a health insurance plan—such as Kaiser, Molina, Sharp HealthCare, or others. Covered California uses your information to determine how much help you get in paying for your health coverage, depending 8
NOVEMBER 2023
Photo: Courtesy of TrueCare
on your family size, your income, and some other requirements. You choose a plan according to your needs, and you pay a monthly premium to the insurance company you selected, not to Covered California. A little-known fact is that many Californians qualify for a discount on their monthly premium you see listed on the Covered California website. Your premium depends on which plan you choose and on your discount. Higher premiums usually mean lower out-of-pocket costs (co-payments) when you go to the doctor or fill prescriptions, and lower premiums usually mean higher out-of-pocket costs.
What is open enrollment? Open enrollment is a window of time when you can apply for health insurance or change your insurance plan through Covered California. Medicare also has its own open enrollment period.
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