By Anna Gorman, Kaiser Health News
The percentage of Latinos and African Americans who signed up for subsidized health coverage through California’s insurance exchange increased during the second annual open enrollment period, officials announced Thursday.
About 37 percent of subsidized enrollees are Latino, up from 31 percent during the first enrollment period ending in March 2014, according to data released by Covered California. That's a 20 percent increase. About 4 percent are African American, up from 3 percent last year.
The numbers, released by Covered California during its monthly board meeting, include only those enrollees eligible for subsidies who responded to questions about their race or ethnicity.
Covered California faced criticism last year for failing to sign up enough Latinos, particularly those who spoke primarily Spanish. The insurance exchange launched a dedicated, bilingual campaign – both in the media and on-the-ground to educate and enroll more Latino consumers.