Covered California executive director Peter Lee testified before Congress Thursday morning. He used his 5-minutes to give a quick recap of what's gone right on the nation's biggest state-based exchange.
First, Lee released numbers of where Covered California stands as of Monday, the day open enrollment formally ended (although those who could not finish due to technical problems have until April 15 to finish):
- 1.2 million people enrolled in Covered California
- 1.9 million newly-enrolled in Medi-Cal
- 800,000 people are likely eligible for Medi-Cal but waiting to be confirmed
"This is close to four million Californians," Lee told the House Committee on Oversight Government Reform. "As of three days ago, California had brought coverage to more than 50 percent of those subsidy-eligible in the exchange."
In 2013, 7 million people in California were uninsured. But because there was no question on the application as to insurance status, it is unclear how many people who are enrolled in insurance were previously.
California was the first state to pass legislation to create an exchange -- that was in 2010 just a few months after President Obama signed the Affordable Care Act into law. In that time, Covered California has gone from 10 employees to over 1,000. "We are a very, very fast start-up that is working to change history," Lee said.