Covered California: Community Partners Weekly
New! Happy Holidays from Covered California
Again, we appreciate the tremendous effort you’ve all put into getting consumers covered over the last month! Since the start of the 2014 enrollment season, we’ve received applications from more than 592,000 people and our numbers continue to grow. Your hard work continues to be instrumental in Covered California’s success. We will continue to improve our systems and provide you with resources to support your work in the coming months.
We wish you and yours a happy and healthy holiday season.
New! Community Partner Storefront Program
Covered California is pleased to introduce the new Community Partner Storefront program. Take advantage of a great opportunity to market yourself to consumers looking for local, in-person assistance. This program allows our partner’s with existing retail storefronts to be listed in Covered California’s new consumer “Find a Storefront Near Me” directory. This convenient online directory will allow consumers to search for a Covered California Storefront by zip code, language spoken and other specific criteria to find local, in-person assistance. Available co-branded, pre-approved signage designs for your retail storefront are also available for you to download and use. To apply, or to obtain more information, visit the Community Partner Storefront website.
New! CEC/PBE Recertification Deadline
The deadline to complete the Recertification Training has been extended to December 31, 2014. Those who have not finished Recertification Training but were previously certified and given access to CoveredCA.com will continue to be able to provide enrollment assistance. If you have any questions regarding the LMS or your training progress, please contact the Certified Enrollment Counselor Training Help Desk at training@rhainc.com. PBEs should reach out to their supervisors for any questions related to the deadline or to LMSHelpDesk@covered.ca.gov for any LMS-related questions.New! Enrollment vs. Penalty Comparison Chart
We encourage you to educate consumers interested in coverage about potential tax penalties they may be required to pay in 2016 if they do not enroll for coverage by the end of Open Enrollment. In many cases, consumers eligible for premium assistance may find the cost of purchasing coverage through Covered California to be cheaper than the tax penalty. Covered California has developed a handy Penalty Comparison Chart which you can use as you assist consumers as they weigh their options to enroll in coverage.
New! Encrypting Consumers Personally-Identifiable Information (PII)
As you transmit files or request assistance with specific cases via email, please be sure to send all Personally Identifiable Information (PII) including documents, records and screenshots containing PII in an encrypted format to ensure consumer information remains secure. PII is any information, such as an individual’s name, social security number or address, which can be used to distinguish or trace the individual’s identity either on its own or when combined with other identifying information. If you’re unsure of how to encrypt a file or lack the capability to encrypt your emails, you can reference our Instructions for using 7-Zip to Encrypt Files.
New! Spanish Language Enrollment Worksheet now available
The Spanish Language version of the Enrollment Worksheet is now available! The Enrollment Worksheet is available on the In-Person Assistance System (IPAS) Homepage or you can access it by clicking here.
New! Introducing the Sales and Outreach Advanced Study course, now available in LMS
The Sales and Outreach – Advanced Study course is available now in the Learning Management System (LMS). This is an optional training course that is separate from the required courses for Certification with Covered California. Step-by-step instructions on how to access this course are available for download by clicking here.
New! Job Aid for Calculating Income Sources
Check out the new Income Pages Job Aid to help you navigate the Income verification page of Covered California’s enrollment application. This Job Aid also provides guidance on how to modify income information for consumers that need to report a change in income.
New! Job Aid for Making a Plan Change
This new Change Plan Job Aid illustrates how to use the Change Plan link, which you will need to become familiar with in order to assist consumers with making a change to their health insurance plan during Renewal or Open Enrollment.
New! Job Aid for Consumer Enrollment Survey
A new Consumer Survey Job Aid has recently been published. This Job Aid is written from the consumer’s perspective and is being provided to you so that you can assist consumers with completing the survey to provide Covered California with confidential feedback regarding their experience with applying and enrolling for coverage.New! Special Sales Division Webinar: Wednesday, January 7, 2015
A special Sales Division Webinar has been scheduled for Wednesday, January 7. During this webinar we will cover:
The Sales Division webinar originally scheduled for December 31 has been cancelled. Covered CA will be back on its normal bi-weekly schedule starting January 14, 2015, with webinars held every other Wednesday.
Reminder! Update on Plan Payment Deadline for January 1st Coverage
If you have newly enrolled Covered California members in your book of business that have not yet made their initial premium payment (binder payment) for coverage effective January 1, 2015, please encourage them to pay close attention to the first invoice they receive from their chosen health plan. This invoice will indicate their official premium payment owed and their payment deadline in order for them to maintain coverage. Note that consumers that do not make their premium payment by the date indicated on their first invoice will risk having their coverage terminated.Due to the extra time we’ve provided for CECs/PBEs and consumers to complete enrollment applications, consumers may experience a delay in receiving their invoices and proof of enrollment from their chosen health plan if they enrolled after December 15. We appreciate your help in communicating these expectations to your consumers.
For questions about making premium payments, please contact the health plans directly by visiting our “Paying Your Premium” webpage and following the instructions associated with the specific health plan.
Reminder! Find The Community Partners Weekly & Past Webinar Recordings Online
Each week, Covered California posts the most recent edition of the Community Partners Weekly on the IPAS home page under Section L) Program Tips and Updates. You can also access the latest webinar recordings.
Reminder! CEC/PBE Help Line Hours during 2015 Open Enrollment
Covered California’s CEC/PBE Help Line
Phone: (855) 324-3147
Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
Reminder! Important Dates for Your Calendar
12/25: Service center closed for Christmas
1/1: Service center close for New Year’s Day
1/7: Sales Division Webinar #7
1/14: Sale Division Webinar #8
1/15: Deadline for 2/1 coverage (Individual Marketplace)
1/27: Payment deadline for 2/1 coverage (Individual Marketplace)
Upcoming CalHEERS Planned Outages
There are no scheduled outages at this time.
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