As a result of federal health reform, up to three million low-income or uninsured individuals will eventually gain access to free or low-cost medical benefits through Medi-Cal alone. A range of other low-cost health insurance offerings will also become available by 2014 through California's Health Benefit Exchange. The process of applying for health insurance can at times be cumbersome and confusing, however, and experts agree there is room to improve on existing systems before these coverage expansions take place.

CHCF, in partnership with The California Endowment (TCE), hosted a Sacramento briefing to present preliminary findings from a Lake Research Partners inquiry that explores the health insurance enrollment experiences of California consumers. A future portion of the project will include the experiences of enrollment eligibility workers.

Through a range of interviews and focus groups, researchers chronicled the perspectives and preferences of a cross-section of low-income, uninsured Californians applying for health insurance, documenting their experiences with in-person, online, and phone enrollment processes. The findings focused on what has worked well and how to make enrollment consumer-friendly.

Insights from this California study are aimed at informing state efforts to implement the federal Affordable Care Act and requirements for enrollment into public programs and subsidized insurance plans through the Health Benefit Exchange.

The presenters were:

• Richard Figueroa, director, health and human services, TCE
• Mike Perry, partner, Lake Research Partners
• Catherine Teare, senior program officer, CHCF

Consumer Perspectives (Interviews): Enrollment Pathways for Health Coverage in California

This additional video was shown at the beginning of the briefing and features interviews with individuals who participated in the focus groups. Production of the video was supported by The California Endowment.