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Covered California Site Still Not Fully Functional for Spanish-Speakers

Covered California Site Still Not Fully Functional for Spanish-Speakers
Meanwhile, Call Center Violates Workplace Rules

(Washington, D.C.) – With less than one week to go before the deadline for purchasing insurance in time for it to take effect on January 1, the Spanish-language site for Covered California is still not fully functional. The Spanish-language "events" page does not exist. The Spanish-language "enrollment assistance" page is currently shown in English. Generally, the Spanish-language community continues to lack a fully-functioning online enrollment system, even as important deadlines for enrolling and paying get closer. This is almost certainly one reason that enrollment by Latinos in California is lagging badly.
 
At the same time, the state of California is reportedly forcing call-center employees to work overtime, work 6-day weeks, and forego a traditional Christmas Eve break in order to try to cover for system failures.  This may be unsurprising in light of the worrisome situation created by a law that is costing hundreds of thousands of California residents their insurance coverage. Nevertheless, these practices have created an extremely difficult work environment for those charged with helping people find coverage.

Daniel Garza, Executive Director of The LIBRE Initiative released the following statement:

"It's simply unacceptable to force Latinos (and others) to purchase government-approved insurance, and then make it so difficult for them to buy it. Many are finding premiums to be far higher than expected, and the system  for getting information and signing up is still insufficient. The State of California promised a working Spanish-language site in simple recognition of the fact that many thousands of people can't comply with the law without one. Now we are less than two weeks from the start of the new year, and the enrollment system is still incomplete. This is insulting. In the end, many Californians will find themselves uninsured on January 1 because of this law."

Garza recently appeared on Enfoque to discuss California's experience with the ACA. Click here to watch.

Learn more about "The Accountability Project" campaign and LIBRE's efforts to keep elected officials accountable for supporting the flawed Obamacare law that is causing families everywhere to lose their current health care plan and lose their full time jobs. They are elected to make the right decisions for the people – let's keep them accountable.

For interviews with a LIBRE representative, please contact: Judy Pino, 202-578-6424 or Brian Faughnan, 571-257-3309.