Tuesday is Covered California's Deadline for Enrollment

Covered California issued a reminder Wednesday that next week is the final deadline for enrollment.

Initially the deadline for enrollment was March 31, but because of a “crush of consumer interest” in the final weeks, California extended the deadline to April 15. 

Executive Director Peter Lee says that “we are closing in on the April 15 deadline, and we are working to besure everyone who wants and needs insurance will complete the process intime.”

Lee says the extension has allowed an additional 70,000 people to sign up. According to the Covered CA website, the extension is limited to those who had “created an online account andcompleted the first page of the application by 11:59 p.m. March 31.”

California has enrolled about one million people through the exchange. An additional 1.1 million have been deemed eligible for the state’s Medi-Cal program. Though the deadline for enrollment in private insurance happens Tuesday night at 11:59PM, Medi-Cal enrollment is year round.

Despite the numerical successes, Covered California has been criticized for low enrollment among Latinos and African Americans. African Americans make up 17 percent of California’s uninsured population but just 3 percent of enrollees.