Hospitals, Policy

New TV ads for Covered California take on deportation worries

With Obamacare open enrollment beginning this coming Saturday, a lot of people have questions about […]

With Obamacare open enrollment beginning this coming Saturday, a lot of people have questions about how the HealthCare.gov site will hold up. But another question is especially pertinent in California – how many Latinos will be signing up?

Some California residents have voiced their concern about signing up for Obamacare when they have family members who are not U.S. citizens because they have to answer questions about their family. The fear is that somehow this process could lead to deportation.

But the issue is not being ignored:

California officials, sensing continued reluctance from people such as the Saldanas, are tackling the immigration fears directly for the first time in new TV ads. One commercial shows documents flying into a vault as a Latino man tells viewers their information is “confidential and private.” This is part of $95 million the Covered California exchange will be spending on marketing and outreach in the months ahead. California accounted for 15% of enrollment nationwide during the initial launch, and the Obama administration is counting on the Golden State to deliver another big turnout.

Even though all information is supposed to be private when signing up with Obamacare, some people just aren’t willing to take the risk if it could potentially split up their family.

About 3.4 million Californians got health insurance in the last year through private insurance or an expansion the state’s low-income health plan, Medi-Cal. And the statistics show that they are making major progress because the percentage of Californians who are uninsured was cut in half to 11% by June, according to the Commonwealth Fund.

The goals for the situation are in place, and more Latinos are insured than before, but the numbers after Nov. 15 will illustrate if more strides and affects from Covered California have made that much of a difference.

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