window.__IS_SSR__=true
window.__INITIAL_STATE__={
"attachmentsReducer": {
"audio_0": {
"type": "attachments",
"id": "audio_0",
"imgSizes": {
"kqedFullSize": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/themes/KQED-unified/img/audio_bgs/background0.jpg"
}
}
},
"audio_1": {
"type": "attachments",
"id": "audio_1",
"imgSizes": {
"kqedFullSize": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/themes/KQED-unified/img/audio_bgs/background1.jpg"
}
}
},
"audio_2": {
"type": "attachments",
"id": "audio_2",
"imgSizes": {
"kqedFullSize": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/themes/KQED-unified/img/audio_bgs/background2.jpg"
}
}
},
"audio_3": {
"type": "attachments",
"id": "audio_3",
"imgSizes": {
"kqedFullSize": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/themes/KQED-unified/img/audio_bgs/background3.jpg"
}
}
},
"audio_4": {
"type": "attachments",
"id": "audio_4",
"imgSizes": {
"kqedFullSize": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/themes/KQED-unified/img/audio_bgs/background4.jpg"
}
}
},
"placeholder": {
"type": "attachments",
"id": "placeholder",
"imgSizes": {
"thumbnail": {
"file": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/KQED-Default-Image-816638274-2000x1333-1-160x107.jpg",
"width": 160,
"height": 107,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg"
},
"medium": {
"file": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/KQED-Default-Image-816638274-2000x1333-1-800x533.jpg",
"width": 800,
"height": 533,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg"
},
"medium_large": {
"file": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/KQED-Default-Image-816638274-2000x1333-1-768x512.jpg",
"width": 768,
"height": 512,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg"
},
"large": {
"file": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/KQED-Default-Image-816638274-2000x1333-1-1020x680.jpg",
"width": 1020,
"height": 680,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg"
},
"1536x1536": {
"file": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/KQED-Default-Image-816638274-2000x1333-1-1536x1024.jpg",
"width": 1536,
"height": 1024,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg"
},
"fd-lrg": {
"file": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/KQED-Default-Image-816638274-2000x1333-1-1536x1024.jpg",
"width": 1536,
"height": 1024,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg"
},
"fd-med": {
"file": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/KQED-Default-Image-816638274-2000x1333-1-1020x680.jpg",
"width": 1020,
"height": 680,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg"
},
"fd-sm": {
"file": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/KQED-Default-Image-816638274-2000x1333-1-800x533.jpg",
"width": 800,
"height": 533,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg"
},
"post-thumbnail": {
"file": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/KQED-Default-Image-816638274-2000x1333-1-672x372.jpg",
"width": 672,
"height": 372,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg"
},
"twentyfourteen-full-width": {
"file": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/KQED-Default-Image-816638274-2000x1333-1-1038x576.jpg",
"width": 1038,
"height": 576,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg"
},
"xxsmall": {
"file": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/KQED-Default-Image-816638274-2000x1333-1-160x107.jpg",
"width": 160,
"height": 107,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg"
},
"xsmall": {
"file": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/KQED-Default-Image-816638274-2000x1333-1-672x372.jpg",
"width": 672,
"height": 372,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg"
},
"small": {
"file": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/KQED-Default-Image-816638274-2000x1333-1-672x372.jpg",
"width": 672,
"height": 372,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg"
},
"xlarge": {
"file": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/KQED-Default-Image-816638274-2000x1333-1-1020x680.jpg",
"width": 1020,
"height": 680,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg"
},
"full-width": {
"file": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/KQED-Default-Image-816638274-2000x1333-1-1920x1280.jpg",
"width": 1920,
"height": 1280,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg"
},
"guest-author-32": {
"file": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/KQED-Default-Image-816638274-1333x1333-1-160x160.jpg",
"width": 32,
"height": 32,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg"
},
"guest-author-50": {
"file": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/KQED-Default-Image-816638274-1333x1333-1-160x160.jpg",
"width": 50,
"height": 50,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg"
},
"guest-author-64": {
"file": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/KQED-Default-Image-816638274-1333x1333-1-160x160.jpg",
"width": 64,
"height": 64,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg"
},
"guest-author-96": {
"file": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/KQED-Default-Image-816638274-1333x1333-1-160x160.jpg",
"width": 96,
"height": 96,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg"
},
"guest-author-128": {
"file": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/KQED-Default-Image-816638274-1333x1333-1-160x160.jpg",
"width": 128,
"height": 128,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg"
},
"detail": {
"file": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/KQED-Default-Image-816638274-1333x1333-1-160x160.jpg",
"width": 160,
"height": 160,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg"
},
"kqedFullSize": {
"file": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/KQED-Default-Image-816638274-2000x1333-1.jpg",
"width": 2000,
"height": 1333
}
}
},
"stateofhealth_16531": {
"type": "attachments",
"id": "stateofhealth_16531",
"meta": {
"index": "attachments_1716263798",
"site": "stateofhealth",
"id": "16531",
"found": true
},
"parent": 16516,
"imgSizes": {
"thumbnail": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/27/2013/12/450630139-e1386185604738-400x266.jpg",
"width": 400,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 266
},
"fd-sm": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/27/2013/12/450630139-e1386185604738-320x213.jpg",
"width": 320,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 213
},
"post-thumbnail": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/27/2013/12/450630139-e1386185604738-641x372.jpg",
"width": 641,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 372
},
"kqedFullSize": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/27/2013/12/450630139-e1386185604738.jpg",
"width": 641,
"height": 427
},
"guest-author-96": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/27/2013/12/450630139-e1386185604738-96x96.jpg",
"width": 96,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 96
},
"guest-author-64": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/27/2013/12/450630139-e1386185604738-64x64.jpg",
"width": 64,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 64
},
"detail": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/27/2013/12/450630139-e1386185604738-75x75.jpg",
"width": 75,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 75
},
"guest-author-32": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/27/2013/12/450630139-e1386185604738-32x32.jpg",
"width": 32,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 32
},
"guest-author-128": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/27/2013/12/450630139-e1386185604738-128x128.jpg",
"width": 128,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 128
}
},
"publishDate": 1386185594,
"modified": 1468887472,
"caption": "Certified specialist helps a consumer apply to Covered California at a free enrollment fair at Pasadena City College. ",
"description": "Covered California",
"title": "450630139",
"credit": "David McNew/Getty Images",
"status": "inherit",
"isLoading": false,
"fetchFailed": false
},
"stateofhealth_16359": {
"type": "attachments",
"id": "stateofhealth_16359",
"meta": {
"index": "attachments_1716263798",
"site": "stateofhealth",
"id": "16359",
"found": true
},
"parent": 16349,
"imgSizes": {
"thumbnail": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/27/2013/11/PEterLeeCROP-e1386913666627-400x290.jpg",
"width": 400,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 290
},
"fd-sm": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/27/2013/11/PEterLeeCROP-e1386913666627-320x232.jpg",
"width": 320,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 232
},
"post-thumbnail": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/27/2013/11/PEterLeeCROP-e1386913666627-640x372.jpg",
"width": 640,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 372
},
"kqedFullSize": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/27/2013/11/PEterLeeCROP-e1386913666627.jpg",
"width": 640,
"height": 464
},
"guest-author-96": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/27/2013/11/PEterLeeCROP-e1386913666627-96x96.jpg",
"width": 96,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 96
},
"guest-author-64": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/27/2013/11/PEterLeeCROP-e1386913666627-64x64.jpg",
"width": 64,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 64
},
"detail": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/27/2013/11/PEterLeeCROP-e1386913666627-75x75.jpg",
"width": 75,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 75
},
"guest-author-32": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/27/2013/11/PEterLeeCROP-e1386913666627-32x32.jpg",
"width": 32,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 32
},
"guest-author-128": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/27/2013/11/PEterLeeCROP-e1386913666627-128x128.jpg",
"width": 128,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 128
}
},
"publishDate": 1385148399,
"modified": 1385148399,
"caption": "Peter Lee, seen here in a 2012 photo, is the executive director of Covered California and testified Thursday before the joint legislative committee on health.",
"description": null,
"title": "PEterLeeCROP",
"credit": null,
"status": "inherit",
"isLoading": false,
"fetchFailed": false
},
"stateofhealth_16988": {
"type": "attachments",
"id": "stateofhealth_16988",
"meta": {
"index": "attachments_1716263798",
"site": "stateofhealth",
"id": "16988",
"found": true
},
"parent": 16985,
"imgSizes": {
"thumbnail": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/27/2014/01/CoveredCA_Spanish-e1388775098705-400x300.jpg",
"width": 400,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 300
},
"fd-sm": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/27/2014/01/CoveredCA_Spanish-e1388775098705-320x240.jpg",
"width": 320,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 240
},
"post-thumbnail": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/27/2014/01/CoveredCA_Spanish-e1388775098705-640x372.jpg",
"width": 640,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 372
},
"kqedFullSize": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/27/2014/01/CoveredCA_Spanish-e1388775098705.jpg",
"width": 640,
"height": 480
},
"guest-author-96": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/27/2014/01/CoveredCA_Spanish-e1388775098705-96x96.jpg",
"width": 96,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 96
},
"guest-author-64": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/27/2014/01/CoveredCA_Spanish-e1388775098705-64x64.jpg",
"width": 64,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 64
},
"detail": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/27/2014/01/CoveredCA_Spanish-e1388775098705-75x75.jpg",
"width": 75,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 75
},
"guest-author-32": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/27/2014/01/CoveredCA_Spanish-e1388775098705-32x32.jpg",
"width": 32,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 32
},
"guest-author-128": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/27/2014/01/CoveredCA_Spanish-e1388775098705-128x128.jpg",
"width": 128,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 128
}
},
"publishDate": 1388775088,
"modified": 1388775088,
"caption": "A report from Berkeley's Greenlining Institute called on Covered California to make its enrollment website available in more languages than English and Spanish. ",
"description": "Covered California website in Spanish.",
"title": "CoveredCA_Spanish",
"credit": null,
"status": "inherit",
"isLoading": false,
"fetchFailed": false
},
"stateofhealth_17730": {
"type": "attachments",
"id": "stateofhealth_17730",
"meta": {
"index": "attachments_1716263798",
"site": "stateofhealth",
"id": "17730",
"found": true
},
"parent": 17722,
"imgSizes": {
"thumbnail": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/27/2014/02/Screen-Shot-2014-02-14-at-2.07.30-PM-e1392415719415-400x219.png",
"width": 400,
"mimeType": "image/png",
"height": 219
},
"fd-sm": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/27/2014/02/Screen-Shot-2014-02-14-at-2.07.30-PM-e1392415719415-320x175.png",
"width": 320,
"mimeType": "image/png",
"height": 175
},
"kqedFullSize": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/27/2014/02/Screen-Shot-2014-02-14-at-2.07.30-PM-e1392415719415.png",
"width": 637,
"height": 348
},
"guest-author-96": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/27/2014/02/Screen-Shot-2014-02-14-at-2.07.30-PM-e1392415719415-96x96.png",
"width": 96,
"mimeType": "image/png",
"height": 96
},
"guest-author-64": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/27/2014/02/Screen-Shot-2014-02-14-at-2.07.30-PM-e1392415719415-64x64.png",
"width": 64,
"mimeType": "image/png",
"height": 64
},
"detail": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/27/2014/02/Screen-Shot-2014-02-14-at-2.07.30-PM-e1392415719415-75x75.png",
"width": 75,
"mimeType": "image/png",
"height": 75
},
"guest-author-32": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/27/2014/02/Screen-Shot-2014-02-14-at-2.07.30-PM-e1392415719415-32x32.png",
"width": 32,
"mimeType": "image/png",
"height": 32
},
"guest-author-128": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/27/2014/02/Screen-Shot-2014-02-14-at-2.07.30-PM-e1392415719415-128x128.png",
"width": 128,
"mimeType": "image/png",
"height": 128
}
},
"publishDate": 1392415688,
"modified": 1392415688,
"caption": "Screenshot from an early Covered California TV ad targeting Latinos. The on-screen text says people cannot be turned down for pre-existing conditions, but consultants say that is not a key selling point for Latinos.",
"description": "Covered California ad",
"title": "Screen Shot 2014-02-14 at 2.07.30 PM",
"credit": null,
"status": "inherit",
"isLoading": false,
"fetchFailed": false
},
"stateofhealth_17667": {
"type": "attachments",
"id": "stateofhealth_17667",
"meta": {
"index": "attachments_1716263798",
"site": "stateofhealth",
"id": "17667",
"found": true
},
"parent": 17652,
"imgSizes": {
"thumbnail": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/27/2014/02/465043929crop-e1392185195530-400x306.jpg",
"width": 400,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 306
},
"fd-sm": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/27/2014/02/465043929crop-e1392185195530-320x245.jpg",
"width": 320,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 245
},
"post-thumbnail": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/27/2014/02/465043929crop-e1392185195530-641x372.jpg",
"width": 641,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 372
},
"kqedFullSize": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/27/2014/02/465043929crop-e1392185195530.jpg",
"width": 641,
"height": 490
},
"guest-author-96": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/27/2014/02/465043929crop-e1392185195530-96x96.jpg",
"width": 96,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 96
},
"guest-author-64": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/27/2014/02/465043929crop-e1392185195530-64x64.jpg",
"width": 64,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 64
},
"detail": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/27/2014/02/465043929crop-e1392185195530-75x75.jpg",
"width": 75,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 75
},
"guest-author-32": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/27/2014/02/465043929crop-e1392185195530-32x32.jpg",
"width": 32,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 32
},
"guest-author-128": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/27/2014/02/465043929crop-e1392185195530-128x128.jpg",
"width": 128,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 128
}
},
"publishDate": 1392185179,
"modified": 1392185179,
"caption": "(Getty Images)",
"description": "Doctor, question mark, sign",
"title": "465043929crop",
"credit": null,
"status": "inherit",
"isLoading": false,
"fetchFailed": false
},
"stateofhealth_15995": {
"type": "attachments",
"id": "stateofhealth_15995",
"meta": {
"index": "attachments_1716263798",
"site": "stateofhealth",
"id": "15995",
"found": true
},
"parent": 15987,
"imgSizes": {
"thumbnail": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/27/2013/10/RS3725_voetstickers320121005-scr-e1383261666265-400x267.jpg",
"width": 400,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 267
},
"fd-sm": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/27/2013/10/RS3725_voetstickers320121005-scr-e1383261666265-320x214.jpg",
"width": 320,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 214
},
"post-thumbnail": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/27/2013/10/RS3725_voetstickers320121005-scr-e1383261666265-640x372.jpg",
"width": 640,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 372
},
"kqedFullSize": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/27/2013/10/RS3725_voetstickers320121005-scr-e1383261666265.jpg",
"width": 640,
"height": 427
},
"guest-author-96": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/27/2013/10/RS3725_voetstickers320121005-scr-e1383261666265-96x96.jpg",
"width": 96,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 96
},
"guest-author-64": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/27/2013/10/RS3725_voetstickers320121005-scr-e1383261666265-64x64.jpg",
"width": 64,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 64
},
"detail": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/27/2013/10/RS3725_voetstickers320121005-scr-e1383261666265-75x75.jpg",
"width": 75,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 75
},
"guest-author-32": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/27/2013/10/RS3725_voetstickers320121005-scr-e1383261666265-32x32.jpg",
"width": 32,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 32
},
"guest-author-128": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/27/2013/10/RS3725_voetstickers320121005-scr-e1383261666265-128x128.jpg",
"width": 128,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 128
}
},
"publishDate": 1383261651,
"modified": 1383261651,
"caption": "(David McNew/Getty Images)",
"description": "vote, \"I voted\" stickers",
"title": "RS3725_voetstickers320121005-scr",
"credit": null,
"status": "inherit",
"isLoading": false,
"fetchFailed": false
},
"stateofhealth_17396": {
"type": "attachments",
"id": "stateofhealth_17396",
"meta": {
"index": "attachments_1716263798",
"site": "stateofhealth",
"id": "17396",
"found": true
},
"parent": 17391,
"imgSizes": {
"thumbnail": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/27/2014/01/Screen-Shot-2014-01-30-at-12.22.56-PM-e1391113903907-400x180.png",
"width": 400,
"mimeType": "image/png",
"height": 180
},
"fd-sm": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/27/2014/01/Screen-Shot-2014-01-30-at-12.22.56-PM-e1391113903907-320x144.png",
"width": 320,
"mimeType": "image/png",
"height": 144
},
"kqedFullSize": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/27/2014/01/Screen-Shot-2014-01-30-at-12.22.56-PM-e1391113903907.png",
"width": 640,
"height": 288
},
"guest-author-96": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/27/2014/01/Screen-Shot-2014-01-30-at-12.22.56-PM-e1391113903907-96x96.png",
"width": 96,
"mimeType": "image/png",
"height": 96
},
"guest-author-64": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/27/2014/01/Screen-Shot-2014-01-30-at-12.22.56-PM-e1391113903907-64x64.png",
"width": 64,
"mimeType": "image/png",
"height": 64
},
"detail": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/27/2014/01/Screen-Shot-2014-01-30-at-12.22.56-PM-e1391113903907-75x75.png",
"width": 75,
"mimeType": "image/png",
"height": 75
},
"guest-author-32": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/27/2014/01/Screen-Shot-2014-01-30-at-12.22.56-PM-e1391113903907-32x32.png",
"width": 32,
"mimeType": "image/png",
"height": 32
},
"guest-author-128": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/27/2014/01/Screen-Shot-2014-01-30-at-12.22.56-PM-e1391113903907-128x128.png",
"width": 128,
"mimeType": "image/png",
"height": 128
}
},
"publishDate": 1391113892,
"modified": 1391113892,
"caption": "The ratings are on a 4-star rating with 4 being high. (screenshot from Covered California)",
"description": "Covered California quality ratings",
"title": "Screen Shot 2014-01-30 at 12.22.56 PM",
"credit": null,
"status": "inherit",
"isLoading": false,
"fetchFailed": false
},
"stateofhealth_13022": {
"type": "attachments",
"id": "stateofhealth_13022",
"meta": {
"index": "attachments_1716263798",
"site": "stateofhealth",
"id": "13022",
"found": true
},
"parent": 13011,
"imgSizes": {
"thumbnail": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/27/2013/05/96226495-e1382074913159-400x267.jpg",
"width": 400,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 267
},
"fd-sm": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/27/2013/05/96226495-e1382074913159-320x214.jpg",
"width": 320,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 214
},
"post-thumbnail": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/27/2013/05/96226495-e1382074913159-640x372.jpg",
"width": 640,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 372
},
"kqedFullSize": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/27/2013/05/96226495-e1382074913159.jpg",
"width": 640,
"height": 427
},
"guest-author-96": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/27/2013/05/96226495-e1382074913159-96x96.jpg",
"width": 96,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 96
},
"guest-author-64": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/27/2013/05/96226495-e1382074913159-64x64.jpg",
"width": 64,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 64
},
"detail": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/27/2013/05/96226495-e1382074913159-75x75.jpg",
"width": 75,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 75
},
"guest-author-32": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/27/2013/05/96226495-e1382074913159-32x32.jpg",
"width": 32,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 32
},
"guest-author-128": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/27/2013/05/96226495-e1382074913159-128x128.jpg",
"width": 128,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 128
}
},
"publishDate": 1369932209,
"modified": 1369932209,
"caption": "(Getty Images)",
"description": "Headline of Health Insurance for background; money; thinkstock image",
"title": "Health Insurance",
"credit": null,
"status": "inherit",
"isLoading": false,
"fetchFailed": false
},
"stateofhealth_15508": {
"type": "attachments",
"id": "stateofhealth_15508",
"meta": {
"index": "attachments_1716263798",
"site": "stateofhealth",
"id": "15508",
"found": true
},
"parent": 15481,
"imgSizes": {
"thumbnail": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/27/2013/10/coveredca-400x225.jpg",
"width": 400,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 225
},
"fd-sm": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/27/2013/10/coveredca-320x180.jpg",
"width": 320,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 180
},
"kqedFullSize": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/27/2013/10/coveredca.jpg",
"width": 640,
"height": 360
},
"guest-author-96": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/27/2013/10/coveredca-96x96.jpg",
"width": 96,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 96
},
"guest-author-64": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/27/2013/10/coveredca-64x64.jpg",
"width": 64,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 64
},
"detail": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/27/2013/10/coveredca-75x75.jpg",
"width": 75,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 75
},
"guest-author-32": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/27/2013/10/coveredca-32x32.jpg",
"width": 32,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 32
},
"guest-author-128": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/27/2013/10/coveredca-128x128.jpg",
"width": 128,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 128
}
},
"publishDate": 1380925113,
"modified": 1380925113,
"caption": "Screenshot from CoveredCA.com, the website of Covered California.",
"description": "CoveredCa.com, screen shot, Covered California",
"title": "coveredca",
"credit": null,
"status": "inherit",
"isLoading": false,
"fetchFailed": false
},
"stateofhealth_17341": {
"type": "attachments",
"id": "stateofhealth_17341",
"meta": {
"index": "attachments_1716263798",
"site": "stateofhealth",
"id": "17341",
"found": true
},
"parent": 17339,
"imgSizes": {
"thumbnail": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/27/2014/01/96525183-e1390846077644-400x266.jpg",
"width": 400,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 266
},
"fd-sm": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/27/2014/01/96525183-e1390846077644-320x213.jpg",
"width": 320,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 213
},
"post-thumbnail": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/27/2014/01/96525183-e1390846077644-641x372.jpg",
"width": 641,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 372
},
"kqedFullSize": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/27/2014/01/96525183-e1390846077644.jpg",
"width": 641,
"height": 427
},
"guest-author-96": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/27/2014/01/96525183-e1390846077644-96x96.jpg",
"width": 96,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 96
},
"guest-author-64": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/27/2014/01/96525183-e1390846077644-64x64.jpg",
"width": 64,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 64
},
"detail": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/27/2014/01/96525183-e1390846077644-75x75.jpg",
"width": 75,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 75
},
"guest-author-32": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/27/2014/01/96525183-e1390846077644-32x32.jpg",
"width": 32,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 32
},
"guest-author-128": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/27/2014/01/96525183-e1390846077644-128x128.jpg",
"width": 128,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 128
}
},
"publishDate": 1390846066,
"modified": 1510855532,
"caption": "The Anthem Blue Cross headquarters in Woodland Hills, California.",
"description": "The Anthem Blue Cross headquarters in Woodland Hills, California.",
"title": "96525183",
"credit": "David McNew/Getty Images",
"status": "inherit",
"isLoading": false,
"fetchFailed": false
}
},
"audioPlayerReducer": {
"postId": "stream_live",
"isPaused": true,
"isPlaying": false,
"pfsActive": false,
"pledgeModalIsOpen": true,
"playerDrawerIsOpen": false,
"liveAudioPlayStartedAt": 0,
"liveAudioPlayContext": ""
},
"authorsReducer": {
"lisaaliferis": {
"type": "authors",
"id": "240",
"meta": {
"index": "authors_1716337520",
"id": "240",
"found": true
},
"name": "Lisa Aliferis",
"firstName": "Lisa",
"lastName": "Aliferis",
"slug": "lisaaliferis",
"email": "laliferis@kqed.org",
"display_author_email": false,
"staff_mastheads": [],
"title": "KQED Contributor",
"bio": "Lisa Aliferis is the founding editor of KQED's \u003cem>State of Health\u003c/em> blog. Since 2011, she's been writing and editing stories for the site. Before taking up blogging, she toiled for many years (more than we can count) producing health stories for television, including\u003cem> Dateline NBC\u003c/em> and San Francisco's CBS affiliate, KPIX-TV. She also wrote up a \u003ca title=\"http://www.kqed.org/news/health/obamacare/obamacare-guide.jsp\" href=\"http://www.kqed.org/news/health/obamacare/obamacare-guide.jsp\">handy guide to the Affordable Care Act\u003c/a>, especially for Californians. Her work has been honored for many awards. Most recently she was a finalist for \"Best Topical Reporting\" from the Online News Association. You can follow her on Twitter: \u003ca title=\"https://twitter.com/laliferis\" href=\"https://twitter.com/laliferis\">@laliferis\u003c/a>",
"avatar": "https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/86c339d5cdcb0dcd2b6cf5d7c3f5886b?s=600&d=mm&r=g",
"twitter": "laliferis",
"facebook": null,
"instagram": null,
"linkedin": null,
"sites": [
{
"site": "news",
"roles": [
"subscriber"
]
},
{
"site": "futureofyou",
"roles": [
"subscriber"
]
},
{
"site": "stateofhealth",
"roles": [
"subscriber"
]
},
{
"site": "science",
"roles": [
"subscriber"
]
},
{
"site": "food",
"roles": []
}
],
"headData": {
"title": "Lisa Aliferis | KQED",
"description": "KQED Contributor",
"ogImgSrc": "https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/86c339d5cdcb0dcd2b6cf5d7c3f5886b?s=600&d=mm&r=g",
"twImgSrc": "https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/86c339d5cdcb0dcd2b6cf5d7c3f5886b?s=600&d=mm&r=g"
},
"isLoading": false,
"link": "/author/lisaaliferis"
},
"adembosky": {
"type": "authors",
"id": "3205",
"meta": {
"index": "authors_1716337520",
"id": "3205",
"found": true
},
"name": "April Dembosky",
"firstName": "April",
"lastName": "Dembosky",
"slug": "adembosky",
"email": "adembosky@kqed.org",
"display_author_email": false,
"staff_mastheads": [
"news",
"science"
],
"title": "KQED Health Correspondent",
"bio": "April Dembosky is the health correspondent for KQED News and a regular contributor to NPR. She specializes in covering altered states of mind, from postpartum depression to methamphetamine-induced psychosis to the insanity defense. Her investigative series on insurance companies sidestepping mental health laws won multiple awards, including first place in beat reporting from the national Association of Health Care Journalists. She is the recipient of numerous other prizes and fellowships, including a national Edward R. Murrow award for investigative reporting, a Society of Professional Journalists award for long-form storytelling, and a Carter Center Fellowship for Mental Health Journalism.\r\n\r\nDembosky reported and produced \u003cem>Soundtrack of Silence\u003c/em>, an audio documentary about music and memory that is currently being made into a feature film by Paramount Pictures.\r\n\r\nBefore joining KQED in 2013, Dembosky covered technology and Silicon Valley for \u003cem>The Financial Times of London,\u003c/em> and contributed business and arts stories to \u003cem>Marketplace \u003c/em>and \u003cem>The New York Times.\u003c/em> She got her undergraduate degree in philosophy from Smith College and her master's in journalism from the University of California, Berkeley. She is a classically trained violinist and proud alum of the first symphony orchestra at Burning Man.",
"avatar": "https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/d6593cd737b732102fe0b6250b5351c2d3bc9b2987566514aa3c9a106494d684?s=600&d=blank&r=g",
"twitter": "adembosky",
"bluesky": null,
"facebook": null,
"instagram": null,
"linkedin": null,
"sites": [
{
"site": "arts",
"roles": [
"author"
]
},
{
"site": "news",
"roles": [
"editor"
]
},
{
"site": "futureofyou",
"roles": [
"author"
]
},
{
"site": "stateofhealth",
"roles": [
"editor"
]
},
{
"site": "science",
"roles": [
"editor"
]
},
{
"site": "forum",
"roles": [
"editor"
]
}
],
"headData": {
"title": "April Dembosky | KQED",
"description": "KQED Health Correspondent",
"ogImgSrc": "https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/d6593cd737b732102fe0b6250b5351c2d3bc9b2987566514aa3c9a106494d684?s=600&d=blank&r=g",
"twImgSrc": "https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/d6593cd737b732102fe0b6250b5351c2d3bc9b2987566514aa3c9a106494d684?s=600&d=blank&r=g"
},
"isLoading": false,
"link": "/author/adembosky"
},
"state-of-health": {
"type": "authors",
"id": "8344",
"meta": {
"index": "authors_1716337520",
"id": "8344",
"found": true
},
"name": "State of Health",
"firstName": "State of Health",
"lastName": null,
"slug": "state-of-health",
"email": "stateofhealth@kqed.org",
"display_author_email": false,
"staff_mastheads": [],
"title": null,
"bio": null,
"avatar": "https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/66de4bf6d331fa7402bba1ffe8135e17?s=600&d=blank&r=g",
"twitter": null,
"facebook": null,
"instagram": null,
"linkedin": null,
"sites": [
{
"site": "arts",
"roles": [
"author"
]
},
{
"site": "stateofhealth",
"roles": [
"editor"
]
}
],
"headData": {
"title": "State of Health | KQED",
"description": null,
"ogImgSrc": "https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/66de4bf6d331fa7402bba1ffe8135e17?s=600&d=blank&r=g",
"twImgSrc": "https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/66de4bf6d331fa7402bba1ffe8135e17?s=600&d=blank&r=g"
},
"isLoading": false,
"link": "/author/state-of-health"
}
},
"pagesReducer": {
"stateofhealth_category_reform": {
"type": "terms",
"id": "stateofhealth_15",
"meta": {
"index": "terms_1716263798",
"site": "stateofhealth",
"id": "15",
"score": 13.558132
},
"featImg": null,
"name": "Obamacare",
"description": "The Affordable Care Act celebrates its seventh birthday this year. California has embraced the law, but will it survive a new Congress and President? \r\n",
"taxonomy": "category",
"headData": {
"twImgId": null,
"twTitle": null,
"ogTitle": null,
"ogImgId": null,
"twDescription": null,
"description": "The Affordable Care Act celebrates its seventh birthday this year. California has embraced the law, but will it survive a new Congress and President?",
"title": "Obamacare Archives | KQED Arts",
"ogDescription": null
},
"ttid": 15,
"slug": "reform",
"isLoading": false,
"title": "Obamacare",
"pageMeta": {
"site": "stateofhealth",
"WpPageTemplate": "page-topic-editorial",
"currentPage": 18
},
"blocks": [
{
"blockName": "kqed/company-paragraph",
"content": "The Affordable Care Act celebrates its seventh birthday this year. California has embraced the law, but will it survive a new Congress and President? \r\n"
},
{
"blockName": "kqed/post-list",
"attrs": {
"layout": "cardArticle2",
"query": "posts/stateofhealth?category=reform",
"seeMore": false,
"paginated": true,
"page": 18
}
},
{
"blockName": "kqed/ad"
}
]
}
},
"pfsSessionReducer": {},
"postsReducer": {
"stream_live": {
"type": "live",
"id": "stream_live",
"audioUrl": "https://hls.kqed.org/hls/kqed_app/playlist.m3u8",
"title": "Live Stream",
"excerpt": "Live Stream information currently unavailable.",
"link": "/radio",
"featImg": "",
"label": {
"name": "KQED Live",
"link": "/"
}
},
"stream_kqedNewscast": {
"type": "posts",
"id": "stream_kqedNewscast",
"audioUrl": "https://www.kqed.org/.stream/anon/radio/RDnews/newscast.mp3?_=1",
"title": "KQED Newscast",
"featImg": "",
"label": {
"name": "88.5 FM",
"link": "/"
}
},
"stateofhealth_17889": {
"type": "posts",
"id": "stateofhealth_17889",
"meta": {
"index": "posts_1716263798",
"site": "stateofhealth",
"id": "17889",
"score": null,
"sort": [
1393447901000
]
},
"parent": 0,
"labelTerm": {
"site": "stateofhealth"
},
"blocks": [],
"publishDate": 1393447901,
"format": "aside",
"disqusTitle": "Consumers Will Trade Limited Choice of Doctors, Hospital for Lower Premiums",
"title": "Consumers Will Trade Limited Choice of Doctors, Hospital for Lower Premiums",
"headTitle": "State of Health | KQED News",
"content": "\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_17898\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 640px\">\u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/stateofhealth/wp-content/uploads/sites/27/2014/02/450425533Crop-e1393448086987.jpg\">\u003cimg class=\"size-large wp-image-17898\" title=\"\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/stateofhealth/wp-content/uploads/sites/27/2014/02/450425533Crop-640x378.jpg\" alt=\"(Getty Images)\" width=\"640\" height=\"378\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">(Getty Images) \u003ccite>(Getty Images)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>By Jordan Rau\u003c/strong>,\u003ca href=\"http://capsules.kaiserhealthnews.org/index.php/2014/02/for-the-right-price-consumers-will-accept-limited-choice-of-doctors-hospitals/\" target=\"_blank\"> Kaiser Health News\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>People buying health insurance through the health law’s new online marketplaces are more willing than the public at large to accept a limited roster of doctors and hospitals in return for lower premiums, a poll released Wednesday finds. But that enthusiasm nosedives if they are told their regular doctor isn’t included in the plan.\u003c/p>\n\u003caside class=\"pullquote alignleft\">But there's a split between those with employer-sponsored insurance and those who buy it on their own.\u003c/aside>\n\u003cp>As a way to keep costs down and be competitive, insurers across the country have pieced together \u003ca href=\"http://capsules.kaiserhealthnews.org/index.php/2013/12/marketplace-plans-networks-are-very-small-study-finds/\" target=\"_blank\">limited networks\u003c/a> of doctors, hospitals and other medical providers. Consumers wanting broader choices of providers are often given the option of buying plans with higher premiums.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The narrow networks have encountered resistance from doctors, patient groups and some insurance regulators, who fear consumers will not grasp their limited options until they seek medical care. Roughly 6 million people this year are expected to buy their own insurance through the health care exchanges that started operation in January.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Most people with private insurance still get their coverage through their employer. Among members of that group, limited networks are unpopular, according to \u003ca href=\"http://kff.org/health-reform/poll-finding/kaiser-health-tracking-poll-february-2014?__hstc=87270983.8cfbe3c5679920054f8f8166bcb6ace6.1386696806182.1393442119248.1393446930624.77&__hssc=87270983.1.1393446930624&__hsfp=1843612902\" target=\"_blank\">the poll from The Kaiser Family Foundation\u003c/a>. Fifty-five percent would rather buy a plan that costs more but allows them to see a wider range of doctors and hospitals, while only 34 percent prefer a less expensive plan with limited providers.\u003c!--more-->\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>However, those views are reversed among people who either lack insurance or are buying their own coverage. Only 35 percent would pay more for a greater array of options, while 54 percent said they would rather save money and accept the narrower choices.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That willingness wanes if they are told they cannot visit their usual doctor or hospital. In that case, the share of people buying their own insurance who are willing to go into the narrower network drops from 54 percent to 35 percent.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Conversely, more people are willing to embrace a narrower network if told they could save up to 25 percent on their health care costs. After mulling those savings, those who favored the broader network shrunk from 35 percent to 22 percent among the uninsured and people buying coverage on their own.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Among the public overall, younger people and poorer people are more likely to favor the smaller networks than older and wealthier people, the poll found.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The pollsters found that the health law’s unpopularity among the general public continues, with 47 percent holding a critical view and 35 percent favoring it. The unpopularity of the law among the uninsured is climbing, although the pollsters noted that may have more to do with the nature of those who remain uninsured, five months after insurers started enrolling people. “Some changes in opinion may be attributable to changes in \u003cem>who\u003c/em> remains uninsured, rather than a shift in opinion among individuals,” the pollsters wrote.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The poll found that about half the public believes the health law has contributed to rising health care costs. The view is much more prevalent among Republicans than Democrats.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Among the general public, high hospital charges are the most common explanation given for rising costs, with 73 percent blaming hospitals. The next most frequently cited reasons for high health costs were an excess of fraud and waste and a general view that all kinds of things are getting more expensive. More than half the public also blames drug and insurance company profits and advances in medical equipment, treatments and medicines. And more than four in 10 people believe doctors charge too much, people are getting more tests and services than they really need and high prices reflect the cost of defending against medical malpractice lawsuits, according to the poll.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The poll was conducted from Feb. 11 through 17 among 1,501 adults via land lines and cell phones. The margin of error for the full sample was +/- 3 percentage points and +/- 7 percent for the uninsured and people buying coverage on their own.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[contextly_auto_sidebar id=\"JtRSc81HZkusWJyKnmen6vrMCsBjbxs9\"]\u003c/p>\n\n",
"disqusIdentifier": "17889 http://blogs.kqed.org/stateofhealth/?p=17889",
"disqusUrl": "https://ww2.kqed.org/stateofhealth/2014/02/26/consumers-will-trade-limited-choice-of-doctors-hospital-for-lower-premiums/",
"stats": {
"hasVideo": false,
"hasChartOrMap": false,
"hasAudio": false,
"hasPolis": false,
"wordCount": 702,
"hasGoogleForm": false,
"hasGallery": false,
"hasHearkenModule": false,
"iframeSrcs": [],
"paragraphCount": 16
},
"modified": 1393448616,
"excerpt": "People buying health insurance through the health law’s new online marketplaces are more willing than the public at large to accept a limited roster of doctors and hospitals in return for lower premiums, a poll released Wednesday finds. But that enthusiasm nosedives if they are told their regular doctor isn’t included in the plan.",
"headData": {
"twImgId": "",
"twTitle": "",
"ogTitle": "",
"ogImgId": "",
"twDescription": "",
"description": "People buying health insurance through the health law’s new online marketplaces are more willing than the public at large to accept a limited roster of doctors and hospitals in return for lower premiums, a poll released Wednesday finds. But that enthusiasm nosedives if they are told their regular doctor isn’t included in the plan.",
"title": "Consumers Will Trade Limited Choice of Doctors, Hospital for Lower Premiums | KQED",
"ogDescription": "",
"schema": {
"@context": "https://schema.org",
"@type": "Article",
"headline": "Consumers Will Trade Limited Choice of Doctors, Hospital for Lower Premiums",
"datePublished": "2014-02-26T12:51:41-08:00",
"dateModified": "2014-02-26T13:03:36-08:00",
"image": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/KQED-OG-Image@1x.png"
}
},
"guestAuthors": [],
"slug": "consumers-will-trade-limited-choice-of-doctors-hospital-for-lower-premiums",
"status": "publish",
"path": "/stateofhealth/17889/consumers-will-trade-limited-choice-of-doctors-hospital-for-lower-premiums",
"audioTrackLength": null,
"parsedContent": [
{
"type": "contentString",
"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_17898\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 640px\">\u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/stateofhealth/wp-content/uploads/sites/27/2014/02/450425533Crop-e1393448086987.jpg\">\u003cimg class=\"size-large wp-image-17898\" title=\"\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/stateofhealth/wp-content/uploads/sites/27/2014/02/450425533Crop-640x378.jpg\" alt=\"(Getty Images)\" width=\"640\" height=\"378\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">(Getty Images) \u003ccite>(Getty Images)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>By Jordan Rau\u003c/strong>,\u003ca href=\"http://capsules.kaiserhealthnews.org/index.php/2014/02/for-the-right-price-consumers-will-accept-limited-choice-of-doctors-hospitals/\" target=\"_blank\"> Kaiser Health News\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>People buying health insurance through the health law’s new online marketplaces are more willing than the public at large to accept a limited roster of doctors and hospitals in return for lower premiums, a poll released Wednesday finds. But that enthusiasm nosedives if they are told their regular doctor isn’t included in the plan.\u003c/p>\n\u003caside class=\"pullquote alignleft\">But there's a split between those with employer-sponsored insurance and those who buy it on their own.\u003c/aside>\n\u003cp>As a way to keep costs down and be competitive, insurers across the country have pieced together \u003ca href=\"http://capsules.kaiserhealthnews.org/index.php/2013/12/marketplace-plans-networks-are-very-small-study-finds/\" target=\"_blank\">limited networks\u003c/a> of doctors, hospitals and other medical providers. Consumers wanting broader choices of providers are often given the option of buying plans with higher premiums.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The narrow networks have encountered resistance from doctors, patient groups and some insurance regulators, who fear consumers will not grasp their limited options until they seek medical care. Roughly 6 million people this year are expected to buy their own insurance through the health care exchanges that started operation in January.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Most people with private insurance still get their coverage through their employer. Among members of that group, limited networks are unpopular, according to \u003ca href=\"http://kff.org/health-reform/poll-finding/kaiser-health-tracking-poll-february-2014?__hstc=87270983.8cfbe3c5679920054f8f8166bcb6ace6.1386696806182.1393442119248.1393446930624.77&__hssc=87270983.1.1393446930624&__hsfp=1843612902\" target=\"_blank\">the poll from The Kaiser Family Foundation\u003c/a>. Fifty-five percent would rather buy a plan that costs more but allows them to see a wider range of doctors and hospitals, while only 34 percent prefer a less expensive plan with limited providers.\u003c!--more-->\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
"attributes": {
"named": {},
"numeric": []
}
},
{
"type": "component",
"content": "",
"name": "ad",
"attributes": {
"named": {
"label": "fullwidth"
},
"numeric": [
"fullwidth"
]
}
},
{
"type": "contentString",
"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>However, those views are reversed among people who either lack insurance or are buying their own coverage. Only 35 percent would pay more for a greater array of options, while 54 percent said they would rather save money and accept the narrower choices.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That willingness wanes if they are told they cannot visit their usual doctor or hospital. In that case, the share of people buying their own insurance who are willing to go into the narrower network drops from 54 percent to 35 percent.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Conversely, more people are willing to embrace a narrower network if told they could save up to 25 percent on their health care costs. After mulling those savings, those who favored the broader network shrunk from 35 percent to 22 percent among the uninsured and people buying coverage on their own.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Among the public overall, younger people and poorer people are more likely to favor the smaller networks than older and wealthier people, the poll found.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The pollsters found that the health law’s unpopularity among the general public continues, with 47 percent holding a critical view and 35 percent favoring it. The unpopularity of the law among the uninsured is climbing, although the pollsters noted that may have more to do with the nature of those who remain uninsured, five months after insurers started enrolling people. “Some changes in opinion may be attributable to changes in \u003cem>who\u003c/em> remains uninsured, rather than a shift in opinion among individuals,” the pollsters wrote.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The poll found that about half the public believes the health law has contributed to rising health care costs. The view is much more prevalent among Republicans than Democrats.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Among the general public, high hospital charges are the most common explanation given for rising costs, with 73 percent blaming hospitals. The next most frequently cited reasons for high health costs were an excess of fraud and waste and a general view that all kinds of things are getting more expensive. More than half the public also blames drug and insurance company profits and advances in medical equipment, treatments and medicines. And more than four in 10 people believe doctors charge too much, people are getting more tests and services than they really need and high prices reflect the cost of defending against medical malpractice lawsuits, according to the poll.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The poll was conducted from Feb. 11 through 17 among 1,501 adults via land lines and cell phones. The margin of error for the full sample was +/- 3 percentage points and +/- 7 percent for the uninsured and people buying coverage on their own.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[contextly_auto_sidebar id=\"JtRSc81HZkusWJyKnmen6vrMCsBjbxs9\"]\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
"attributes": {
"named": {},
"numeric": []
}
}
],
"link": "/stateofhealth/17889/consumers-will-trade-limited-choice-of-doctors-hospital-for-lower-premiums",
"authors": [
"8344"
],
"categories": [
"stateofhealth_15"
],
"label": "stateofhealth"
},
"stateofhealth_17793": {
"type": "posts",
"id": "stateofhealth_17793",
"meta": {
"index": "posts_1716263798",
"site": "stateofhealth",
"id": "17793",
"score": null,
"sort": [
1392856234000
]
},
"parent": 0,
"labelTerm": {
"site": "stateofhealth"
},
"blocks": [],
"publishDate": 1392856234,
"format": "aside",
"disqusTitle": "Memo to Washington: Lessons Learned From California's Obamacare Rollout",
"title": "Memo to Washington: Lessons Learned From California's Obamacare Rollout",
"headTitle": "State of Health | KQED News",
"content": "\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_16531\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 640px\">\u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/stateofhealth/wp-content/uploads/sites/27/2013/12/450630139-e1386185604738.jpg\">\u003cimg class=\"size-large wp-image-16531\" title=\"\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/stateofhealth/wp-content/uploads/sites/27/2013/12/450630139-640x426.jpg\" alt=\"Certified specialist helps a consumer apply to Covered California at a free enrollment fair at Pasadena City College. (David McNew/Getty Images)\" width=\"640\" height=\"426\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Certified specialist helps a consumer apply to Covered California at a free enrollment fair at Pasadena City College. (David McNew/Getty Images) \u003ccite>(David McNew/Getty Images)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>At the same time that California was \u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/stateofhealth/2014/02/19/california-exceeds-its-target-for-enrollment-in-obamacare-plans/\" target=\"_blank\">releasing its latest enrollment numbers\u003c/a> under Obamacare on Wednesday morning, advocates, experts and government officials at all levels gathered in Washington, D.C. to talk about … the Affordable Care Act in California.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Certainly, the rollout of Obamacare in the state has not been without its challenges and yet -- California has 12 percent of the nation's population and nearly 25 percent of all sign-ups nationwide. In addition to the more than 800,000 people currently enrolled in California, another 877,000 Californians are likely to be eligible for Medi-Cal. That's on top of another 652,000 people who transitioned to Medi-Cal from the Low Income Health Program (more on that in a minute). That's well over 2 million people total.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Diana Dooley, secretary of California's Health and Human Services Agency, wasn't about to gloat. \"California is certainly not ready to put up a mission-accomplished banner,\" she noted. But there was a lot of respect for California -- and a desire to learn -- from those in the room at the briefing.\u003c!--more-->\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Low Income Health Program Was Key \u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>While it's been quite \u003ca href=\"http://www.californiahealthline.org/road-to-reform/2014/this-program-was-bigger-than-covered-california-why-did-we-ignore-it\" target=\"_blank\">underreported\u003c/a>, the Low Income Health Program (LIHP) is one pillar of the ACA's success in California. Toby Douglas, director of California's Department of Health Care Services, said they \"thought it was a stretch goal\" to enroll 500,000 people in 2010 when the state began implementation of the program.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Despite concerns that the transition from LIHP to Medi-Cal would be bumpy, it \"really was a smooth transition,\" said Dr. Mitch Katz, director of the Los Angeles County Department of Health Services. Katz said that adding people into LIHP over several years, instead of all at once into Medi-Cal on Jan. 1, made for a much smoother expansion of Medi-Cal.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Linked to the Medi-Cal expansion is the importance of changes to the delivery system. \"Insurance is not health care,\" Katz said. \"We still want to leave people feeling cared for. That's a huge change for Los Angeles, which traditionally has had an episodic, emergency room-driven\" system of providing health care.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Several speakers talked about moving people into primary-care medical homes -- as happened to enrollees in the Low Income Health Program, Douglas said -- to better coordinate their care.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Challenges Remain\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>While acknowledging the state's successes, Anthony Wright of Health Access pointed to what he thinks are the challenges that remain: undocumented immigrants who are not eligible for ACA benefits; people earning more than 400 percent of poverty and not eligible for subsidies, but above 10 percent of income to pay for health insurance; and the \"kid glitch\" -- those with employer-based health insurance who are exempt from subsidies to cover their children but can't afford insurance for dependents.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"I wish the conversation would change to trying to make the system work for everybody,\" Wright said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Rachel Garfield, senior researcher with the Kaiser Family Foundation, presented findings about \u003ca href=\"http://kff.org/uninsured/report/the-uninsured-at-the-starting-line-in-california-california-findings-from-the-2013-kaiser-survey-of-low-income-americans-and-the-aca/\" target=\"_blank\">California's uninsured\u003c/a>. More than 2,500 adults were interviewed in the weeks leading up to the opening of the Covered California marketplace on Oct. 1, 2013 -- and the foundation plans to follow the people they surveyed to assess how the ACA changes how people use the health care system and to track what happens to people who remain uninsured, despite the ACA.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Of adults under 65 who are uninsured:\u003c/p>\n\u003cul>\n\u003cli>52 percent have income less than 138 percent of the federal poverty level (the cutoff for the Medicaid expansion)\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>52 percent are Hispanic\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>64 percent are U.S. citizens and another 17 percent are legal immigrants\u003c/li>\n\u003c/ul>\n\u003cp>In addition, 67 percent had no preventive care visit in the past year -- yet 30 percent have an \"ongoing health condition\" or take a medication on a regular basis.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Presumably at least some of those uninsured have since enrolled in coverage, either Medi-Cal or Covered California, but still, Garfield noted, they need help to \"navigate the health care system.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[contextly_auto_sidebar id=\"UJBW8MPkrKEePWZWaMmAS7WhIusRsTlr\"]\u003c/p>\n\n",
"disqusIdentifier": "17793 http://blogs.kqed.org/stateofhealth/?p=17793",
"disqusUrl": "https://ww2.kqed.org/stateofhealth/2014/02/19/memo-to-washington-lessons-learned-from-californias-obamacare-rollout/",
"stats": {
"hasVideo": false,
"hasChartOrMap": false,
"hasAudio": false,
"hasPolis": false,
"wordCount": 701,
"hasGoogleForm": false,
"hasGallery": false,
"hasHearkenModule": false,
"iframeSrcs": [],
"paragraphCount": 18
},
"modified": 1393280251,
"excerpt": "Certainly, the rollout of Obamacare in the state has not been without its challenges, and yet -- California has 12 percent of the nation's population and nearly 25 percent of all sign-ups nationwide. In addition to the more than 800,000 people currently enrolled in California, another 877,000 Californians are likely to be eligible for Medi-Cal. That's on top of another 652,000 people who transitioned to Medi-Cal from the Low Income Health Program (more on that in a minute). That's well over 2 million people total.",
"headData": {
"twImgId": "",
"twTitle": "",
"ogTitle": "",
"ogImgId": "",
"twDescription": "",
"description": "Certainly, the rollout of Obamacare in the state has not been without its challenges, and yet -- California has 12 percent of the nation's population and nearly 25 percent of all sign-ups nationwide. In addition to the more than 800,000 people currently enrolled in California, another 877,000 Californians are likely to be eligible for Medi-Cal. That's on top of another 652,000 people who transitioned to Medi-Cal from the Low Income Health Program (more on that in a minute). That's well over 2 million people total.",
"title": "Memo to Washington: Lessons Learned From California's Obamacare Rollout | KQED",
"ogDescription": "",
"schema": {
"@context": "https://schema.org",
"@type": "Article",
"headline": "Memo to Washington: Lessons Learned From California's Obamacare Rollout",
"datePublished": "2014-02-19T16:30:34-08:00",
"dateModified": "2014-02-24T14:17:31-08:00",
"image": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/KQED-OG-Image@1x.png"
}
},
"guestAuthors": [],
"slug": "memo-to-washington-lessons-learned-from-californias-obamacare-rollout",
"status": "publish",
"path": "/stateofhealth/17793/memo-to-washington-lessons-learned-from-californias-obamacare-rollout",
"audioTrackLength": null,
"parsedContent": [
{
"type": "contentString",
"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_16531\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 640px\">\u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/stateofhealth/wp-content/uploads/sites/27/2013/12/450630139-e1386185604738.jpg\">\u003cimg class=\"size-large wp-image-16531\" title=\"\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/stateofhealth/wp-content/uploads/sites/27/2013/12/450630139-640x426.jpg\" alt=\"Certified specialist helps a consumer apply to Covered California at a free enrollment fair at Pasadena City College. (David McNew/Getty Images)\" width=\"640\" height=\"426\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Certified specialist helps a consumer apply to Covered California at a free enrollment fair at Pasadena City College. (David McNew/Getty Images) \u003ccite>(David McNew/Getty Images)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>At the same time that California was \u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/stateofhealth/2014/02/19/california-exceeds-its-target-for-enrollment-in-obamacare-plans/\" target=\"_blank\">releasing its latest enrollment numbers\u003c/a> under Obamacare on Wednesday morning, advocates, experts and government officials at all levels gathered in Washington, D.C. to talk about … the Affordable Care Act in California.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Certainly, the rollout of Obamacare in the state has not been without its challenges and yet -- California has 12 percent of the nation's population and nearly 25 percent of all sign-ups nationwide. In addition to the more than 800,000 people currently enrolled in California, another 877,000 Californians are likely to be eligible for Medi-Cal. That's on top of another 652,000 people who transitioned to Medi-Cal from the Low Income Health Program (more on that in a minute). That's well over 2 million people total.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Diana Dooley, secretary of California's Health and Human Services Agency, wasn't about to gloat. \"California is certainly not ready to put up a mission-accomplished banner,\" she noted. But there was a lot of respect for California -- and a desire to learn -- from those in the room at the briefing.\u003c!--more-->\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Low Income Health Program Was Key \u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>While it's been quite \u003ca href=\"http://www.californiahealthline.org/road-to-reform/2014/this-program-was-bigger-than-covered-california-why-did-we-ignore-it\" target=\"_blank\">underreported\u003c/a>, the Low Income Health Program (LIHP) is one pillar of the ACA's success in California. Toby Douglas, director of California's Department of Health Care Services, said they \"thought it was a stretch goal\" to enroll 500,000 people in 2010 when the state began implementation of the program.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
"attributes": {
"named": {},
"numeric": []
}
},
{
"type": "component",
"content": "",
"name": "ad",
"attributes": {
"named": {
"label": "fullwidth"
},
"numeric": [
"fullwidth"
]
}
},
{
"type": "contentString",
"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Despite concerns that the transition from LIHP to Medi-Cal would be bumpy, it \"really was a smooth transition,\" said Dr. Mitch Katz, director of the Los Angeles County Department of Health Services. Katz said that adding people into LIHP over several years, instead of all at once into Medi-Cal on Jan. 1, made for a much smoother expansion of Medi-Cal.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Linked to the Medi-Cal expansion is the importance of changes to the delivery system. \"Insurance is not health care,\" Katz said. \"We still want to leave people feeling cared for. That's a huge change for Los Angeles, which traditionally has had an episodic, emergency room-driven\" system of providing health care.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Several speakers talked about moving people into primary-care medical homes -- as happened to enrollees in the Low Income Health Program, Douglas said -- to better coordinate their care.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Challenges Remain\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>While acknowledging the state's successes, Anthony Wright of Health Access pointed to what he thinks are the challenges that remain: undocumented immigrants who are not eligible for ACA benefits; people earning more than 400 percent of poverty and not eligible for subsidies, but above 10 percent of income to pay for health insurance; and the \"kid glitch\" -- those with employer-based health insurance who are exempt from subsidies to cover their children but can't afford insurance for dependents.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"I wish the conversation would change to trying to make the system work for everybody,\" Wright said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Rachel Garfield, senior researcher with the Kaiser Family Foundation, presented findings about \u003ca href=\"http://kff.org/uninsured/report/the-uninsured-at-the-starting-line-in-california-california-findings-from-the-2013-kaiser-survey-of-low-income-americans-and-the-aca/\" target=\"_blank\">California's uninsured\u003c/a>. More than 2,500 adults were interviewed in the weeks leading up to the opening of the Covered California marketplace on Oct. 1, 2013 -- and the foundation plans to follow the people they surveyed to assess how the ACA changes how people use the health care system and to track what happens to people who remain uninsured, despite the ACA.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Of adults under 65 who are uninsured:\u003c/p>\n\u003cul>\n\u003cli>52 percent have income less than 138 percent of the federal poverty level (the cutoff for the Medicaid expansion)\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>52 percent are Hispanic\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>64 percent are U.S. citizens and another 17 percent are legal immigrants\u003c/li>\n\u003c/ul>\n\u003cp>In addition, 67 percent had no preventive care visit in the past year -- yet 30 percent have an \"ongoing health condition\" or take a medication on a regular basis.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Presumably at least some of those uninsured have since enrolled in coverage, either Medi-Cal or Covered California, but still, Garfield noted, they need help to \"navigate the health care system.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[contextly_auto_sidebar id=\"UJBW8MPkrKEePWZWaMmAS7WhIusRsTlr\"]\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
"attributes": {
"named": {},
"numeric": []
}
}
],
"link": "/stateofhealth/17793/memo-to-washington-lessons-learned-from-californias-obamacare-rollout",
"authors": [
"240"
],
"categories": [
"stateofhealth_15",
"stateofhealth_14"
],
"tags": [
"stateofhealth_368",
"stateofhealth_402",
"stateofhealth_79"
],
"featImg": "stateofhealth_16531",
"label": "stateofhealth"
},
"stateofhealth_17786": {
"type": "posts",
"id": "stateofhealth_17786",
"meta": {
"index": "posts_1716263798",
"site": "stateofhealth",
"id": "17786",
"score": null,
"sort": [
1392847859000
]
},
"parent": 0,
"labelTerm": {
"site": "stateofhealth"
},
"blocks": [],
"publishDate": 1392847859,
"format": "aside",
"disqusTitle": "California Exceeds Its Target for Enrollment in Obamacare Plans",
"title": "California Exceeds Its Target for Enrollment in Obamacare Plans",
"headTitle": "State of Health | KQED News",
"content": "\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_16356\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 640px\">\u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/stateofhealth/wp-content/uploads/sites/27/2013/11/187909355-e1385142271347.jpg\">\u003cimg class=\"size-large wp-image-16356\" title=\"\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/stateofhealth/wp-content/uploads/sites/27/2013/11/187909355-640x426.jpg\" alt=\"Peter Lee, executive director of Covered California. (Max Whitaker/Getty Images)\" width=\"640\" height=\"426\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Peter Lee, executive director of Covered California. (Max Whitaker/Getty Images) \u003ccite>(Max Whitaker/Getty Images)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>With six weeks left to go in the first open enrollment period in Covered California, the state's health insurance marketplace, California has already exceeded its goal for the number of people it hoped to enroll into health care plans. As of February 15\u003csup>th\u003c/sup>, 828,638 people have signed up. The original goal had been 500,000-700,000 people by March 31. However, the state is still scrambling to get Latinos on board.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The rate of Latino enrollment showed signs of modest improvement in January. About 7 percent of people who enrolled in health plans through January 31 speak Spanish as their primary language. But the state is still far from mirroring the representation of Spanish speakers in California which is nearly 30 percent.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Overall, Latinos represent 21 percent of sign-ups through the end of January, while that demographic makes up nearly 50 percent of the state's population.\u003c!--more-->\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>On Wednesday Covered California launched a new marketing and outreach campaign to try to change this, called \"Tengo un plan,\" or \"I have a plan.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The \u003ca href=\"http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AEXB8k-pGIg&feature=youtu.be\" target=\"_blank\">new TV commercial\u003c/a> and on-the-ground efforts are a response to pressure from advocates and media who have criticized the state for glitches in its Spanish website, the call center dialogue and particularly for not hiring enough Spanish-speaking staff.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“From day one, focusing on Latino enrollment has been probably the number one priority for Covered California,” said Peter Lee, executive director of Covered California. “Have we executed it perfectly? No.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Latinos as a group are younger and healthier than the general population as a whole. Their premiums are needed to help balance the health care costs of older, sicker Californians and keep premiums down for everyone.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In addition to the Covered California enrollees, another 877,000 Californians are likely to be eligible for Medi-Cal.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Young adults are ticking upward in their enrollment. Of those who have selected a Covered California plan, 26 percent are adults ages 18-to-34 years old. While this group is about 25 percent of the population, it is 36 percent of the people who are eligible for subsidies and would enroll on Covered California.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[contextly_auto_sidebar id=\"ARorsykhk7Id72fw7AE0A3UIhOHTvV0F\"]\u003c/p>\n\n",
"disqusIdentifier": "17786 http://blogs.kqed.org/stateofhealth/?p=17786",
"disqusUrl": "https://ww2.kqed.org/stateofhealth/2014/02/19/california-exceeds-its-target-for-enrollment-in-obamacare-plans/",
"stats": {
"hasVideo": false,
"hasChartOrMap": false,
"hasAudio": false,
"hasPolis": false,
"wordCount": 384,
"hasGoogleForm": false,
"hasGallery": false,
"hasHearkenModule": false,
"iframeSrcs": [],
"paragraphCount": 12
},
"modified": 1392856382,
"excerpt": "With six weeks left to go in the first open enrollment period in Covered California, the state's health insurance marketplace, California has already exceeded its goal for the number of people it hoped to enroll into health care plans. As of February 15th, 828,638 people have signed up. The original goal had been 500,000-700,000 people by March 31. However, the state is still scrambling to get Latinos on board.",
"headData": {
"twImgId": "",
"twTitle": "",
"ogTitle": "",
"ogImgId": "",
"twDescription": "",
"description": "With six weeks left to go in the first open enrollment period in Covered California, the state's health insurance marketplace, California has already exceeded its goal for the number of people it hoped to enroll into health care plans. As of February 15th, 828,638 people have signed up. The original goal had been 500,000-700,000 people by March 31. However, the state is still scrambling to get Latinos on board.",
"title": "California Exceeds Its Target for Enrollment in Obamacare Plans | KQED",
"ogDescription": "",
"schema": {
"@context": "https://schema.org",
"@type": "Article",
"headline": "California Exceeds Its Target for Enrollment in Obamacare Plans",
"datePublished": "2014-02-19T14:10:59-08:00",
"dateModified": "2014-02-19T16:33:02-08:00",
"image": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/KQED-OG-Image@1x.png"
}
},
"guestAuthors": [],
"slug": "california-exceeds-its-target-for-enrollment-in-obamacare-plans",
"status": "publish",
"path": "/stateofhealth/17786/california-exceeds-its-target-for-enrollment-in-obamacare-plans",
"audioTrackLength": null,
"parsedContent": [
{
"type": "contentString",
"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_16356\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 640px\">\u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/stateofhealth/wp-content/uploads/sites/27/2013/11/187909355-e1385142271347.jpg\">\u003cimg class=\"size-large wp-image-16356\" title=\"\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/stateofhealth/wp-content/uploads/sites/27/2013/11/187909355-640x426.jpg\" alt=\"Peter Lee, executive director of Covered California. (Max Whitaker/Getty Images)\" width=\"640\" height=\"426\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Peter Lee, executive director of Covered California. (Max Whitaker/Getty Images) \u003ccite>(Max Whitaker/Getty Images)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>With six weeks left to go in the first open enrollment period in Covered California, the state's health insurance marketplace, California has already exceeded its goal for the number of people it hoped to enroll into health care plans. As of February 15\u003csup>th\u003c/sup>, 828,638 people have signed up. The original goal had been 500,000-700,000 people by March 31. However, the state is still scrambling to get Latinos on board.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The rate of Latino enrollment showed signs of modest improvement in January. About 7 percent of people who enrolled in health plans through January 31 speak Spanish as their primary language. But the state is still far from mirroring the representation of Spanish speakers in California which is nearly 30 percent.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Overall, Latinos represent 21 percent of sign-ups through the end of January, while that demographic makes up nearly 50 percent of the state's population.\u003c!--more-->\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>On Wednesday Covered California launched a new marketing and outreach campaign to try to change this, called \"Tengo un plan,\" or \"I have a plan.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The \u003ca href=\"http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AEXB8k-pGIg&feature=youtu.be\" target=\"_blank\">new TV commercial\u003c/a> and on-the-ground efforts are a response to pressure from advocates and media who have criticized the state for glitches in its Spanish website, the call center dialogue and particularly for not hiring enough Spanish-speaking staff.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
"attributes": {
"named": {},
"numeric": []
}
},
{
"type": "component",
"content": "",
"name": "ad",
"attributes": {
"named": {
"label": "fullwidth"
},
"numeric": [
"fullwidth"
]
}
},
{
"type": "contentString",
"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“From day one, focusing on Latino enrollment has been probably the number one priority for Covered California,” said Peter Lee, executive director of Covered California. “Have we executed it perfectly? No.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Latinos as a group are younger and healthier than the general population as a whole. Their premiums are needed to help balance the health care costs of older, sicker Californians and keep premiums down for everyone.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In addition to the Covered California enrollees, another 877,000 Californians are likely to be eligible for Medi-Cal.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Young adults are ticking upward in their enrollment. Of those who have selected a Covered California plan, 26 percent are adults ages 18-to-34 years old. While this group is about 25 percent of the population, it is 36 percent of the people who are eligible for subsidies and would enroll on Covered California.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[contextly_auto_sidebar id=\"ARorsykhk7Id72fw7AE0A3UIhOHTvV0F\"]\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
"attributes": {
"named": {},
"numeric": []
}
}
],
"link": "/stateofhealth/17786/california-exceeds-its-target-for-enrollment-in-obamacare-plans",
"authors": [
"3205"
],
"categories": [
"stateofhealth_15"
],
"tags": [
"stateofhealth_368",
"stateofhealth_325"
],
"featImg": "stateofhealth_16359",
"label": "stateofhealth"
},
"stateofhealth_17745": {
"type": "posts",
"id": "stateofhealth_17745",
"meta": {
"index": "posts_1716263798",
"site": "stateofhealth",
"id": "17745",
"score": null,
"sort": [
1392717642000
]
},
"parent": 0,
"labelTerm": {
"site": "stateofhealth"
},
"blocks": [],
"publishDate": 1392717642,
"format": "aside",
"disqusTitle": "How Covered California's Outreach to Latinos Is Falling Short",
"title": "How Covered California's Outreach to Latinos Is Falling Short",
"headTitle": "State of Health | KQED News",
"content": "\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_16988\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 640px\">\u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/stateofhealth/wp-content/uploads/sites/27/2014/01/CoveredCA_Spanish-e1388775098705.jpg\">\u003cimg class=\" wp-image-16988\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/stateofhealth/wp-content/uploads/sites/27/2014/01/CoveredCA_Spanish-640x480.jpg\" alt=\"CoveredCA_Spanish\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">While Covered California's website is available in Spanish, the agency has a dramatic shortage of Spanish-speaking enrollment counselors. Many Spanish-speaking Californians say they prefer to enroll in person.\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp style=\"text-align: center\">[contextly_auto_sidebar id=\"40XDR90cUfTnil6sPWl2ZIij39yn5sBs\"]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>California may be leading the nation in its aim to enroll Latinos into health care plans under the Affordable Care Act, but sign-ups are falling far short of the goal. The state's marketplace for health insurance, Covered California, is scrambling to fix problems with its marketing and outreach campaigns.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For starters, Spanish-speaking counselors are hard to come by. More of them are needed to address concerns of Latinos, who are wary of the health insurance system. Some are hesitant to sign up because they're afraid undocumented family members will be discovered and then deported. Others aren't sure it's worth the money.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>People like Larissa Bobadilla are trying to convince them that it's okay.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“They trust me,” says Bobadilla, a health outreach worker and enrollment counselor. She started working in Los Angeles 16 years ago as a promotora, a health educator. Now, the children of people she helped more than a decade ago are coming to her to find out what's really going on with Obamacare. “The news gives a lot of information, (but) it confuses the people. They don’t know what is the truth.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Many Latinos have never bought insurance before. So Bobadilla takes the time to explain what the benefits are and how they work, in their own language: Spanish.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Bobadilla is exactly the kind of person Covered California wants in the trenches. The trouble is, there aren't nearly enough people like her out there. The state wanted to have 20,000 certified counselors ready to go when plans first went on sale in October. Yet today, it has just 4,000.\u003c!--more-->\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>There are several reasons for the shortfall. Political wrangling at the federal level delayed the rollout of training programs. That meant there wasn't time to approve a Spanish curriculum or a Spanish certification test. So many qualified counselors like Larissa Bobadilla had to take their chances in English.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I feeling so nervous, feeling so—frustration,” she says. “It's so hard when it’s in another language.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>She passed the test. But other promotoras in the community didn't, and they can’t help anybody until they do.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Compensation Too Low?\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Money has been another problem. The state relies on community nonprofits to recruit and train enrollment counselors like Bobadilla. But the state only pays $58 for each person a counselor enrolls -- and then only after a customer pays the first month's premium. Many nonprofits say that’s not enough to cover the actual costs of training counselors and giving consumers all the help they need.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s not just about enrolling people, you have to educate them,” Sonya Vasquez, policy director at Community Health Councils. “And then because they built that relationship with you, if there’s something that happens, they’re going to come back to you and none of that is actually getting paid for.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ciframe src=\"https://w.soundcloud.com/player/?url=https%3A//api.soundcloud.com/tracks/135515601&color=ff5500&auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_artwork=true\" frameborder=\"no\" scrolling=\"no\" width=\"100%\" height=\"166\">\u003c/iframe>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The shortage of people power isn’t just limited to the streets. Covered California underestimated how many counselors it would need to staff its call centers. Many people who asked to speak to someone in Spanish got transferred to English-speaking agents. When there are too many calls, the system simply hangs up.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The website has had similar problems.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"I visited the website, with my brother’s help, and we tried to enroll, but it didn’t work,” says Maria Aurelia, a teacher from San Pablo, east of San Francisco. She went to an enrollment event at her local library. “I prefer to sign up face-to-face. Fac-to-face, there’s better communication.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>All these steps require a lot of effort. So it should be no surprise that the number of Latinos who have actually signed up for a plan through Covered California is extremely low.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Suspend Advertising Campaign -- or Keep Going\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>State senator Norma Torres is exasperated. She says the economics of the system depend on Latinos, who, as a group, are younger and healthier than the population as whole. Their premiums will help keep costs down for everyone else. Torres is frustrated that her office has been flooded with calls from Latinos who want to sign up but can’t.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“What is the message they’ve received? Keep trying. Keep calling,” Torres said at Covered California’s January board meeting. “What business would say to consumers who want their product to keep trying? To not give up? We need to do better.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>She’s urging Covered California not to spend any more money on advertising until it improves its customer service operations. But executive director Peter Lee says he won't give up on marketing.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We are not going to take our foot off the gas in raising awareness and getting people to knock on our door. It’s our job to make sure when you knock, we answer the door,” he says.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[contextly_sidebar id=\"81fd9fa21138ea944dc7810f459a7cc1\"]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But marketing experts say the disconnect between the hype and reality is yet another reason Latinos aren't signing up. People hear from their friends about bad experiences trying to use the system, but then they see TV commercials that say it's easy to enroll and affordable plans are within everyone's reach.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s almost defrauding the consumer,” says Carlos Santiago of Hispanic market research firm Santiago Solutions Group in Los Angeles.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He says these ads further erode the trust of Latino communities.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s building this greatness, greatness, greatness, greatness,” he says. “In fact, you go into doubt, your mind goes like but that’s not true, that’s not true. Why should I call?”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Santiago says affordability is the greatest hurdle. Despite the ads, people still don't understand that they may qualify for subsidies that will bring monthly payments down, or that they might be eligible for free coverage through the state's Medicaid program. But even then, there's still a big problem with price sensitivity.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Many Latinos grew up without health insurance, and haven't considered buying it before now. Santiago says paying a couple hundred dollars every month for an average plan, just to have peace of mind, is not a convincing value proposition.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“You go wait a minute, am I going to use this right away? How much do I need that security right now, this year when I have all these other realities in my life to fit in my budget,” he says.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The threat of tax penalties may push some people over the edge, but others will decide that paying a fine will be more cost effective. Santiago's research shows that only a quarter of Latinos are willing to pay more than $100 a month for insurance.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>So even if Covered California manages to come up with a brilliant marketing campaign and hire an army of customer service agents, there's still a problem of price point.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>\u003cstrong>This is the second of two stories looking at Covered California's enrollment of Hispanics. The first story looked specifically at Covered California's \u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/stateofhealth/2014/02/17/missteps-in-covered-californias-marketing-campaign-to-latinos/\" target=\"_blank\">marketing campaign\u003c/a>.\u003c/strong>\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n",
"disqusIdentifier": "17745 http://blogs.kqed.org/stateofhealth/?p=17745",
"disqusUrl": "https://ww2.kqed.org/stateofhealth/2014/02/18/covered-californias-spanish-customer-service-fails-to-deliver/",
"stats": {
"hasVideo": false,
"hasChartOrMap": true,
"hasAudio": true,
"hasPolis": false,
"wordCount": 1257,
"hasGoogleForm": false,
"hasGallery": false,
"hasHearkenModule": false,
"iframeSrcs": [
"https://w.soundcloud.com/player/"
],
"paragraphCount": 35
},
"modified": 1392920823,
"excerpt": "For starters, Spanish-speaking counselors are hard to come by. More of them are needed to address concerns of Latinos, who are wary of the health insurance system. Some are hesitant to sign up because they're afraid undocumented family members will be discovered and then deported. Others aren't sure it's worth the money.\r\n\r\nPeople like Larissa Bobadilla are trying to convince them that it's okay.",
"headData": {
"twImgId": "",
"twTitle": "",
"ogTitle": "",
"ogImgId": "",
"twDescription": "",
"description": "For starters, Spanish-speaking counselors are hard to come by. More of them are needed to address concerns of Latinos, who are wary of the health insurance system. Some are hesitant to sign up because they're afraid undocumented family members will be discovered and then deported. Others aren't sure it's worth the money.\r\n\r\nPeople like Larissa Bobadilla are trying to convince them that it's okay.",
"title": "How Covered California's Outreach to Latinos Is Falling Short | KQED",
"ogDescription": "",
"schema": {
"@context": "https://schema.org",
"@type": "Article",
"headline": "How Covered California's Outreach to Latinos Is Falling Short",
"datePublished": "2014-02-18T02:00:42-08:00",
"dateModified": "2014-02-20T10:27:03-08:00",
"image": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/KQED-OG-Image@1x.png"
}
},
"guestAuthors": [],
"slug": "covered-californias-spanish-customer-service-fails-to-deliver",
"status": "publish",
"path": "/stateofhealth/17745/covered-californias-spanish-customer-service-fails-to-deliver",
"audioTrackLength": null,
"parsedContent": [
{
"type": "contentString",
"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_16988\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 640px\">\u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/stateofhealth/wp-content/uploads/sites/27/2014/01/CoveredCA_Spanish-e1388775098705.jpg\">\u003cimg class=\" wp-image-16988\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/stateofhealth/wp-content/uploads/sites/27/2014/01/CoveredCA_Spanish-640x480.jpg\" alt=\"CoveredCA_Spanish\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">While Covered California's website is available in Spanish, the agency has a dramatic shortage of Spanish-speaking enrollment counselors. Many Spanish-speaking Californians say they prefer to enroll in person.\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp style=\"text-align: center\">[contextly_auto_sidebar id=\"40XDR90cUfTnil6sPWl2ZIij39yn5sBs\"]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>California may be leading the nation in its aim to enroll Latinos into health care plans under the Affordable Care Act, but sign-ups are falling far short of the goal. The state's marketplace for health insurance, Covered California, is scrambling to fix problems with its marketing and outreach campaigns.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For starters, Spanish-speaking counselors are hard to come by. More of them are needed to address concerns of Latinos, who are wary of the health insurance system. Some are hesitant to sign up because they're afraid undocumented family members will be discovered and then deported. Others aren't sure it's worth the money.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>People like Larissa Bobadilla are trying to convince them that it's okay.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“They trust me,” says Bobadilla, a health outreach worker and enrollment counselor. She started working in Los Angeles 16 years ago as a promotora, a health educator. Now, the children of people she helped more than a decade ago are coming to her to find out what's really going on with Obamacare. “The news gives a lot of information, (but) it confuses the people. They don’t know what is the truth.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
"attributes": {
"named": {},
"numeric": []
}
},
{
"type": "component",
"content": "",
"name": "ad",
"attributes": {
"named": {
"label": "fullwidth"
},
"numeric": [
"fullwidth"
]
}
},
{
"type": "contentString",
"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Many Latinos have never bought insurance before. So Bobadilla takes the time to explain what the benefits are and how they work, in their own language: Spanish.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Bobadilla is exactly the kind of person Covered California wants in the trenches. The trouble is, there aren't nearly enough people like her out there. The state wanted to have 20,000 certified counselors ready to go when plans first went on sale in October. Yet today, it has just 4,000.\u003c!--more-->\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>There are several reasons for the shortfall. Political wrangling at the federal level delayed the rollout of training programs. That meant there wasn't time to approve a Spanish curriculum or a Spanish certification test. So many qualified counselors like Larissa Bobadilla had to take their chances in English.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I feeling so nervous, feeling so—frustration,” she says. “It's so hard when it’s in another language.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>She passed the test. But other promotoras in the community didn't, and they can’t help anybody until they do.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Compensation Too Low?\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Money has been another problem. The state relies on community nonprofits to recruit and train enrollment counselors like Bobadilla. But the state only pays $58 for each person a counselor enrolls -- and then only after a customer pays the first month's premium. Many nonprofits say that’s not enough to cover the actual costs of training counselors and giving consumers all the help they need.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s not just about enrolling people, you have to educate them,” Sonya Vasquez, policy director at Community Health Councils. “And then because they built that relationship with you, if there’s something that happens, they’re going to come back to you and none of that is actually getting paid for.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ciframe src=\"https://w.soundcloud.com/player/?url=https%3A//api.soundcloud.com/tracks/135515601&color=ff5500&auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_artwork=true\" frameborder=\"no\" scrolling=\"no\" width=\"100%\" height=\"166\">\u003c/iframe>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The shortage of people power isn’t just limited to the streets. Covered California underestimated how many counselors it would need to staff its call centers. Many people who asked to speak to someone in Spanish got transferred to English-speaking agents. When there are too many calls, the system simply hangs up.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The website has had similar problems.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"I visited the website, with my brother’s help, and we tried to enroll, but it didn’t work,” says Maria Aurelia, a teacher from San Pablo, east of San Francisco. She went to an enrollment event at her local library. “I prefer to sign up face-to-face. Fac-to-face, there’s better communication.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>All these steps require a lot of effort. So it should be no surprise that the number of Latinos who have actually signed up for a plan through Covered California is extremely low.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Suspend Advertising Campaign -- or Keep Going\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>State senator Norma Torres is exasperated. She says the economics of the system depend on Latinos, who, as a group, are younger and healthier than the population as whole. Their premiums will help keep costs down for everyone else. Torres is frustrated that her office has been flooded with calls from Latinos who want to sign up but can’t.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“What is the message they’ve received? Keep trying. Keep calling,” Torres said at Covered California’s January board meeting. “What business would say to consumers who want their product to keep trying? To not give up? We need to do better.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>She’s urging Covered California not to spend any more money on advertising until it improves its customer service operations. But executive director Peter Lee says he won't give up on marketing.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We are not going to take our foot off the gas in raising awareness and getting people to knock on our door. It’s our job to make sure when you knock, we answer the door,” he says.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But marketing experts say the disconnect between the hype and reality is yet another reason Latinos aren't signing up. People hear from their friends about bad experiences trying to use the system, but then they see TV commercials that say it's easy to enroll and affordable plans are within everyone's reach.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s almost defrauding the consumer,” says Carlos Santiago of Hispanic market research firm Santiago Solutions Group in Los Angeles.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He says these ads further erode the trust of Latino communities.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s building this greatness, greatness, greatness, greatness,” he says. “In fact, you go into doubt, your mind goes like but that’s not true, that’s not true. Why should I call?”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Santiago says affordability is the greatest hurdle. Despite the ads, people still don't understand that they may qualify for subsidies that will bring monthly payments down, or that they might be eligible for free coverage through the state's Medicaid program. But even then, there's still a big problem with price sensitivity.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Many Latinos grew up without health insurance, and haven't considered buying it before now. Santiago says paying a couple hundred dollars every month for an average plan, just to have peace of mind, is not a convincing value proposition.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“You go wait a minute, am I going to use this right away? How much do I need that security right now, this year when I have all these other realities in my life to fit in my budget,” he says.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The threat of tax penalties may push some people over the edge, but others will decide that paying a fine will be more cost effective. Santiago's research shows that only a quarter of Latinos are willing to pay more than $100 a month for insurance.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>So even if Covered California manages to come up with a brilliant marketing campaign and hire an army of customer service agents, there's still a problem of price point.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
"attributes": {
"named": {},
"numeric": []
}
},
{
"type": "component",
"content": "",
"name": "ad",
"attributes": {
"named": {
"label": "floatright"
},
"numeric": [
"floatright"
]
}
},
{
"type": "contentString",
"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>\u003cstrong>This is the second of two stories looking at Covered California's enrollment of Hispanics. The first story looked specifically at Covered California's \u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/stateofhealth/2014/02/17/missteps-in-covered-californias-marketing-campaign-to-latinos/\" target=\"_blank\">marketing campaign\u003c/a>.\u003c/strong>\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
"attributes": {
"named": {},
"numeric": []
}
}
],
"link": "/stateofhealth/17745/covered-californias-spanish-customer-service-fails-to-deliver",
"authors": [
"3205"
],
"categories": [
"stateofhealth_15",
"stateofhealth_14"
],
"tags": [
"stateofhealth_368"
],
"featImg": "stateofhealth_16988",
"label": "stateofhealth"
},
"stateofhealth_17722": {
"type": "posts",
"id": "stateofhealth_17722",
"meta": {
"index": "posts_1716263798",
"site": "stateofhealth",
"id": "17722",
"score": null,
"sort": [
1392631257000
]
},
"parent": 0,
"labelTerm": {
"site": "stateofhealth"
},
"blocks": [],
"publishDate": 1392631257,
"format": "aside",
"disqusTitle": "Missteps in Covered California's Marketing Campaign to Latinos",
"title": "Missteps in Covered California's Marketing Campaign to Latinos",
"headTitle": "State of Health | KQED News",
"content": "\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_17729\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 635px\">\u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/stateofhealth/wp-content/uploads/sites/27/2014/02/Screen-Shot-2014-02-14-at-2.05.57-PM.png\">\u003cimg class=\"size-full wp-image-17729\" title=\"\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/stateofhealth/wp-content/uploads/sites/27/2014/02/Screen-Shot-2014-02-14-at-2.05.57-PM.png\" alt=\"Screenshot from an early Covered California TV ad targeting Latinos. The on-screen text says people cannot be turned down for pre-existing conditions, but consultants say that is not a key selling point for Latinos.\" width=\"635\" height=\"345\" srcset=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/27/2014/02/Screen-Shot-2014-02-14-at-2.05.57-PM.png 635w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/27/2014/02/Screen-Shot-2014-02-14-at-2.05.57-PM-400x217.png 400w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/27/2014/02/Screen-Shot-2014-02-14-at-2.05.57-PM-320x174.png 320w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 635px) 100vw, 635px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Screen shot from an early Covered California TV ad targeting Latinos. The on-screen text says people cannot be turned down for pre-existing conditions, but consultants say that is not a key selling point for Latinos.\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>It's been decades since the advertising industry recognized the need to woo Hispanic consumers. Big companies saw the market potential and sank millions of dollars into ads. The most basic do's and don’ts of marketing to Latinos in the U.S. have been understood for years.\u003c/p>\n\u003caside class=\"pullquote alignleft\">\"It's not a cohesive campaign targeted to Hispanics.\" \u003c/aside>\n\u003cp>So when California officials started thinking about how to persuade the state’s Latino population to enroll in health care plans, they should have had a blueprint of what to do. Instead, they made a series of mistakes.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"It's not a cohesive campaign targeted to Hispanics,\" says Bessie Ramirez of the Los Angeles-based Santiago Solutions Group, a Hispanic market research firm that has consulted for large health care clients like HealthNet, Cigna and Blue Cross.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"Frankly, it seems obvious that the launch of this program seemed to have actually turned a blind eye to what the needs of this particular consumer were,\" she says.\u003c!--more-->\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For example, one thing health policy experts love about Obamacare is that no one can be denied coverage for a pre-existing health condition. Covered California made this a selling point in almost all its Spanish ads. But that doesn’t resonate with Latinos. Many have never had insurance, never considered it.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ciframe src=\"https://w.soundcloud.com/player/?url=https%3A//api.soundcloud.com/tracks/135517515&color=ff5500&auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_artwork=true\" frameborder=\"no\" scrolling=\"no\" width=\"100%\" height=\"166\">\u003c/iframe>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Ramirez says another problem is that all the early TV ads end with a web address for Covered California -- no phone number or physical address. She says that completely misses how Hispanics like to shop, especially for a complicated product like health insurance.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"Hispanics are heavily on the Internet, and they’re growing very fast on the Internet; however they’re not transacting on the Internet,\" Ramirez notes. \"They transact on a personal basis. Hispanics will wait to go to a 7-11 until 11 o’clock. Because at 11 o’clock they know that Juan is on duty.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Ignoring Cultural Relevance\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Perhaps Covered California’s biggest mistake was simply translating ads developed in English for a general audience into Spanish. This ignores the importance of cultural relevance. Think of the award-winning English-language campaign,\u003cstrong>\u003cem> \u003ca href=\"http://www.vintageadbrowser.com/got-milk-ads\" target=\"_blank\">Got Milk?\u003c/a>\u003c/em>\u003c/strong> At worst, a literal translation into Spanish could be a rude reference to breast milk. At best, it just falls flat. That’s what happened with Covered California’s\u003ca href=\"http://www.youtube.com/watch?list=UU0FISFbEaHFc5ccrIgkZ3mg&v=rOuyJLtUfOk\" target=\"_blank\"> first Spanish-language ad.\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The ad features a series of people looking directly into the camera saying, in Spanish, \"Welcome to a new state of health. Welcome to Covered California.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Ad experts say that was an obvious misstep.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"To say we’re in a new state of health for California, it’s grammatically correct to translate it literally, but it doesn’t have the same nuance or cuteness that it does in English,\" says Roberto Orci, CEO of Acento Advertising in Santa Monica.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He found one of the state’s follow-up ads just boring -- the music, the message and the man in the ad.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"This guy was stiff as a board and … \u003cem>seco\u003c/em>, which in English means dry,\" he said. \"He doesn't care about my health insurance needs at all.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Latinos Are Key to Health Insurance Risk Pool\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>If the product is chicken nuggets or milk, it might not matter to anyone but the companies if Latinos buy it. But, if Latinos don’t buy health insurance, it matters to everyone.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It all has to do with the insurance risk pool.On average, Latinos are younger and healthier than the general population. The premiums they pay help cover the health care costs of older, sicker Californians. And that keeps premium costs down for everyone else.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That’s why Covered California is sweating the numbers. Just 6 percent of people who enrolled in Covered California health plans last year speak Spanish as their first language. The state is worried how far that number is from the population of Spanish speakers in the state -- nearly 30 percent.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"We don't think we've done a good enough job yet,\" says Peter Lee, executive director of Covered California. \"Relative to our ambitions and our aspirations we don’t stack up well enough yet, and so we’re going to be doubling down,\" he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The state spent almost $5 million on its Spanish ad campaign last year. It plans to spend more than $8 million in the first three months of this year. Covered California has upped its market research efforts and vowed to adjust its creative messaging. This time around it will put a lot of emphasis in ads on where people can go to get help in person.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"Even from day one we thought Spanish speakers would need in-person help,\" Lee says. \"How important that is has really crystalized over the last three months.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But crucial time has been lost. The final deadline to sign up for coverage this year is March 31. It’s not clear if Covered California can come up with a more effective marketing campaign before then.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>\u003cstrong>This is the first of two stories looking at Covered California's flaws in enrolling the state's Latinos. \u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/stateofhealth/2014/02/18/covered-californias-spanish-customer-service-fails-to-deliver/#more-17745\" target=\"_blank\">The second part\u003c/a> looks beyond marketing to the limited number of Spanish-speaking counselors and other drawbacks.\u003c/strong>\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[contextly_auto_sidebar id=\"DOYF2s0wNSiklgfMSK7f4aNdn3OBKjZq\"]\u003c/p>\n\n",
"disqusIdentifier": "17722 http://blogs.kqed.org/stateofhealth/?p=17722",
"disqusUrl": "https://ww2.kqed.org/stateofhealth/2014/02/17/missteps-in-covered-californias-marketing-campaign-to-latinos/",
"stats": {
"hasVideo": false,
"hasChartOrMap": true,
"hasAudio": true,
"hasPolis": false,
"wordCount": 937,
"hasGoogleForm": false,
"hasGallery": false,
"hasHearkenModule": false,
"iframeSrcs": [
"https://w.soundcloud.com/player/"
],
"paragraphCount": 27
},
"modified": 1392856435,
"excerpt": "California is making a mad dash to enroll Latinos into health care plans. So far, the state Obamacare marketplace has not done well on this front. Advertising campaigns are missing the mark, and Spanish-speaking counselors who can help with the complex signup process are hard to come by.",
"headData": {
"twImgId": "",
"twTitle": "",
"ogTitle": "",
"ogImgId": "",
"twDescription": "",
"description": "California is making a mad dash to enroll Latinos into health care plans. So far, the state Obamacare marketplace has not done well on this front. Advertising campaigns are missing the mark, and Spanish-speaking counselors who can help with the complex signup process are hard to come by.",
"title": "Missteps in Covered California's Marketing Campaign to Latinos | KQED",
"ogDescription": "",
"schema": {
"@context": "https://schema.org",
"@type": "Article",
"headline": "Missteps in Covered California's Marketing Campaign to Latinos",
"datePublished": "2014-02-17T02:00:57-08:00",
"dateModified": "2014-02-19T16:33:55-08:00",
"image": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/KQED-OG-Image@1x.png"
}
},
"guestAuthors": [],
"slug": "missteps-in-covered-californias-marketing-campaign-to-latinos",
"status": "publish",
"path": "/stateofhealth/17722/missteps-in-covered-californias-marketing-campaign-to-latinos",
"audioTrackLength": null,
"parsedContent": [
{
"type": "contentString",
"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_17729\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 635px\">\u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/stateofhealth/wp-content/uploads/sites/27/2014/02/Screen-Shot-2014-02-14-at-2.05.57-PM.png\">\u003cimg class=\"size-full wp-image-17729\" title=\"\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/stateofhealth/wp-content/uploads/sites/27/2014/02/Screen-Shot-2014-02-14-at-2.05.57-PM.png\" alt=\"Screenshot from an early Covered California TV ad targeting Latinos. The on-screen text says people cannot be turned down for pre-existing conditions, but consultants say that is not a key selling point for Latinos.\" width=\"635\" height=\"345\" srcset=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/27/2014/02/Screen-Shot-2014-02-14-at-2.05.57-PM.png 635w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/27/2014/02/Screen-Shot-2014-02-14-at-2.05.57-PM-400x217.png 400w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/27/2014/02/Screen-Shot-2014-02-14-at-2.05.57-PM-320x174.png 320w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 635px) 100vw, 635px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Screen shot from an early Covered California TV ad targeting Latinos. The on-screen text says people cannot be turned down for pre-existing conditions, but consultants say that is not a key selling point for Latinos.\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>It's been decades since the advertising industry recognized the need to woo Hispanic consumers. Big companies saw the market potential and sank millions of dollars into ads. The most basic do's and don’ts of marketing to Latinos in the U.S. have been understood for years.\u003c/p>\n\u003caside class=\"pullquote alignleft\">\"It's not a cohesive campaign targeted to Hispanics.\" \u003c/aside>\n\u003cp>So when California officials started thinking about how to persuade the state’s Latino population to enroll in health care plans, they should have had a blueprint of what to do. Instead, they made a series of mistakes.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"It's not a cohesive campaign targeted to Hispanics,\" says Bessie Ramirez of the Los Angeles-based Santiago Solutions Group, a Hispanic market research firm that has consulted for large health care clients like HealthNet, Cigna and Blue Cross.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"Frankly, it seems obvious that the launch of this program seemed to have actually turned a blind eye to what the needs of this particular consumer were,\" she says.\u003c!--more-->\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For example, one thing health policy experts love about Obamacare is that no one can be denied coverage for a pre-existing health condition. Covered California made this a selling point in almost all its Spanish ads. But that doesn’t resonate with Latinos. Many have never had insurance, never considered it.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
"attributes": {
"named": {},
"numeric": []
}
},
{
"type": "component",
"content": "",
"name": "ad",
"attributes": {
"named": {
"label": "fullwidth"
},
"numeric": [
"fullwidth"
]
}
},
{
"type": "contentString",
"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ciframe src=\"https://w.soundcloud.com/player/?url=https%3A//api.soundcloud.com/tracks/135517515&color=ff5500&auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_artwork=true\" frameborder=\"no\" scrolling=\"no\" width=\"100%\" height=\"166\">\u003c/iframe>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Ramirez says another problem is that all the early TV ads end with a web address for Covered California -- no phone number or physical address. She says that completely misses how Hispanics like to shop, especially for a complicated product like health insurance.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"Hispanics are heavily on the Internet, and they’re growing very fast on the Internet; however they’re not transacting on the Internet,\" Ramirez notes. \"They transact on a personal basis. Hispanics will wait to go to a 7-11 until 11 o’clock. Because at 11 o’clock they know that Juan is on duty.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Ignoring Cultural Relevance\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Perhaps Covered California’s biggest mistake was simply translating ads developed in English for a general audience into Spanish. This ignores the importance of cultural relevance. Think of the award-winning English-language campaign,\u003cstrong>\u003cem> \u003ca href=\"http://www.vintageadbrowser.com/got-milk-ads\" target=\"_blank\">Got Milk?\u003c/a>\u003c/em>\u003c/strong> At worst, a literal translation into Spanish could be a rude reference to breast milk. At best, it just falls flat. That’s what happened with Covered California’s\u003ca href=\"http://www.youtube.com/watch?list=UU0FISFbEaHFc5ccrIgkZ3mg&v=rOuyJLtUfOk\" target=\"_blank\"> first Spanish-language ad.\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The ad features a series of people looking directly into the camera saying, in Spanish, \"Welcome to a new state of health. Welcome to Covered California.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Ad experts say that was an obvious misstep.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"To say we’re in a new state of health for California, it’s grammatically correct to translate it literally, but it doesn’t have the same nuance or cuteness that it does in English,\" says Roberto Orci, CEO of Acento Advertising in Santa Monica.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He found one of the state’s follow-up ads just boring -- the music, the message and the man in the ad.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"This guy was stiff as a board and … \u003cem>seco\u003c/em>, which in English means dry,\" he said. \"He doesn't care about my health insurance needs at all.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Latinos Are Key to Health Insurance Risk Pool\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>If the product is chicken nuggets or milk, it might not matter to anyone but the companies if Latinos buy it. But, if Latinos don’t buy health insurance, it matters to everyone.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It all has to do with the insurance risk pool.On average, Latinos are younger and healthier than the general population. The premiums they pay help cover the health care costs of older, sicker Californians. And that keeps premium costs down for everyone else.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That’s why Covered California is sweating the numbers. Just 6 percent of people who enrolled in Covered California health plans last year speak Spanish as their first language. The state is worried how far that number is from the population of Spanish speakers in the state -- nearly 30 percent.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"We don't think we've done a good enough job yet,\" says Peter Lee, executive director of Covered California. \"Relative to our ambitions and our aspirations we don’t stack up well enough yet, and so we’re going to be doubling down,\" he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The state spent almost $5 million on its Spanish ad campaign last year. It plans to spend more than $8 million in the first three months of this year. Covered California has upped its market research efforts and vowed to adjust its creative messaging. This time around it will put a lot of emphasis in ads on where people can go to get help in person.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"Even from day one we thought Spanish speakers would need in-person help,\" Lee says. \"How important that is has really crystalized over the last three months.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But crucial time has been lost. The final deadline to sign up for coverage this year is March 31. It’s not clear if Covered California can come up with a more effective marketing campaign before then.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>\u003cstrong>This is the first of two stories looking at Covered California's flaws in enrolling the state's Latinos. \u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/stateofhealth/2014/02/18/covered-californias-spanish-customer-service-fails-to-deliver/#more-17745\" target=\"_blank\">The second part\u003c/a> looks beyond marketing to the limited number of Spanish-speaking counselors and other drawbacks.\u003c/strong>\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[contextly_auto_sidebar id=\"DOYF2s0wNSiklgfMSK7f4aNdn3OBKjZq\"]\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
"attributes": {
"named": {},
"numeric": []
}
}
],
"link": "/stateofhealth/17722/missteps-in-covered-californias-marketing-campaign-to-latinos",
"authors": [
"3205"
],
"categories": [
"stateofhealth_11",
"stateofhealth_15"
],
"tags": [
"stateofhealth_368",
"stateofhealth_325"
],
"featImg": "stateofhealth_17730",
"label": "stateofhealth"
},
"stateofhealth_17652": {
"type": "posts",
"id": "stateofhealth_17652",
"meta": {
"index": "posts_1716263798",
"site": "stateofhealth",
"id": "17652",
"score": null,
"sort": [
1392167864000
]
},
"parent": 0,
"labelTerm": {
"site": "stateofhealth"
},
"blocks": [],
"publishDate": 1392167864,
"format": "aside",
"disqusTitle": "You're Enrolled in an Obamacare Plan: Will Your Doctor Accept Your Insurance?",
"title": "You're Enrolled in an Obamacare Plan: Will Your Doctor Accept Your Insurance?",
"headTitle": "State of Health | KQED News",
"content": "\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_17667\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 640px\">\u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/stateofhealth/wp-content/uploads/sites/27/2014/02/465043929crop-e1392185195530.jpg\">\u003cimg class=\"size-large wp-image-17667\" title=\"\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/stateofhealth/wp-content/uploads/sites/27/2014/02/465043929crop-640x489.jpg\" alt=\"(Getty Images)\" width=\"640\" height=\"489\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">(Getty Images)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>It's been about six weeks since a half-million people saw their Covered California health insurance plan take effect. And in that time, those who have needed care have experienced the good, the bad and the ugly of finding a provider who will accept their insurance.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Let's start with people who are dealing with some significant challenges.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>I've\u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/stateofhealth/2014/01/21/just-over-500000-people-enrolled-in-covered-california-in-2013-some-report-problems/\" target=\"_blank\"> been following \u003c/a>Sue Kearney of Oakland. After confirming her doctors would take the insurance, she enrolled in an Anthem Blue Cross subsidized PPO plan with Covered California last fall. Then she scheduled appointments for early January. She has ongoing chronic health issues, and the thing she said she needs most is a colonoscopy.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But at her first appointment, she was told that the doctor did not accept any Covered California insurance. Ditto for the other doctors. Kearney set up a screen share with me, logged into her account and confirmed for me that doctors showed up as accepting her insurance, but the office said they didn't when she called them. Ultimately, Kearney was referred to a specific customer service representative with Anthem Blue Cross to help her find an in-network doctor to perform her colonoscopy. I promised to check back in.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c!--more-->\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In the meantime, I talked to Larry Levitt, senior vice president at the Kaiser Family Foundation. The Covered California \"exchange has created a much more competitive market, and the main way plans have to control costs is by narrowing networks\" of providers, he said. That's \u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/stateofhealth/2013/11/28/why-narrow-networks-may-not-be-such-a-bad-idea/\" target=\"_blank\">not necessarily a bad thing\u003c/a>. The issue of limiting networks is not new but the implementation of the Affordable Care Act has \"accelerated the trend,\" Levitt said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The other thing the ACA has done is highlight how difficult it is to maintain an accurate provider database. Late last week Covered California \u003ca href=\"http://coveredcanews.blogspot.com/2014/02/covered-california-takes-provider.html\" target=\"_blank\">took down its online database of providers\u003c/a> because it contained too many errors. But Covered California's database can only be as accurate as what is provided by insurance plans. \"It's always been a challenge to nail down these networks,\" Levitt said. \"They're constantly in flux.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Indeed, doctors move from one group to another or are affiliated with a larger group. Plans are negotiated at the group level, but it might not be communicated to individual offices which health insurance they should accept. Or there could be other issues. Darrel Ng, a spokesman with Anthem Blue Cross, said the company has a \"team of people\" whose job is to maintain the database, but its \"urgency and intensity has picked up\" since Jan. 1. He also said that medical groups are contractually required to notify Anthem if a doctor leaves the group -- but he said that doesn't always happen.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Does a provider's office even know what insurance it accepts?\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Heather Tralla or Northridge enrolled in a Blue Shield-subsidized Covered California plan -- the \"Enhanced PPO Covered California\" plan -- last fall. She has multiple sclerosis and, in mid-January, a doctor referred her for two MRIs. Tralla said she logged into her account with Blue Shield to look up facilities that would accept her insurance.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>She then spent more than two weeks trying to find a provider. While her online account showed many facilities, when she called the offices all said they did not accept Covered California insurance. They said they would accept the \"Enhanced PPO\" plan from Blue Shield, but not the \"Covered California\" version. She said supervisors she spoke to at Blue Shield initially told her that the two plans have the same network -- then others told her they have different networks.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Ultimately, Tralla called one of the MRI providers so many times that the office finally called her in early February to say that the provider had signed a contract that day to accept the Covered California plan. She had her two MRIs late last week.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>I contacted Steve Shivinsky, a spokesman for Blue Shield, who told me the networks for their \"Enhanced PPO\" plans are the same. \"It doesn't matter if you purchase (the plan) on or off the exchange,\" he said via email.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But that has clearly not been Tralla's experience. \"I got my MRI taken care of,\" she said. \"But what's going to happen the next time?\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Without insurance, \"I would have wound up in the ER, or probably dead\"\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Then there's Richard Walker of San Francisco. He's the kind of person advocates of a health insurance overhaul talk about. Walker had been uninsured since 2004. In December, he enrolled in an Anthem Blue Cross subsidized plan through Covered California. Walker had delayed medical care until his insurance became effective Jan. 1.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He may have gotten to a doctor in the nick of time.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Upon examination, Walker's physician, Luis Rodriquez of One Medical Group, suspected Walker had \"DVT\" or \u003ca href=\"http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/000156.htm\" target=\"_blank\">deep vein thrombosis\u003c/a> -- a blood clot that had formed in a vein in one of his legs. In a later interview, Rodriguez called it a \"life-threatening\" condition and referred to Walker as a \"ticking time bomb.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Walker needed an ultrasound test immediately. It confirmed the DVT. Treatment was two medications -- a blood-thinner, available as pills, and a second injectable drug, which is very expensive. Walker had only a few hiccups having his insurance cover both the tests and the medications he needed.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Today, he's pretty grateful. While he said he \"had an idea\" something was wrong, \"I would have wound up in the ER or probably dead\" without the Affordable Care Act and the insurance he accessed because of it.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Kearney still waiting\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>After I'd talked to Walker, I checked back in with Kearney. She said she needed a blood transfusion and ended up being hospitalized overnight. While that stay appears to have been covered by her insurance, the Anthem Blue Cross customer service representative she has been working with still has not been able to find an in-network doctor to perform the colonoscopy she needs, she told me.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"Where I'm supposed to go to get these tests is a huge mystery,\" she said -- and she's getting very frustrated.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The question of in-network versus out-of-network hits hard on the pocketbook. Kearney's out-of-pocket maximum is $2,250 -- as long as she stays with in-network providers. If she goes out-of-network, her maximum goes up to $10,000.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Covered California \u003ca href=\"http://coveredcanews.blogspot.com/2013/12/covered-california-unveils-robust.html\" target=\"_blank\">says more than 80 percent\u003c/a> of California doctors are included in the exchange as well as a \"substantial majority\" of the state's hospitals.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>California's Department of Managed Health Care regulates most of the plans offered under Covered California. (One Health Net plan falls under the Department of Insurance purview). Marta Green, a spokeswoman with DMHC, said that plans must have a primary care provider-to-enrollee ratio of 1-to-2,000 and an overall physician-to-enrollee ratio of 1-to-1,200. \"If for some reason the health plan does not have a particular type of specialist that an enrollee needs to treat a condition,\" Green said via email, \"then the health plan is obligated to find such a provider and cover those services.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Green added that anyone who is having trouble accessing care through his or her insurance can contact the department's \u003ca href=\"http://www.HealthHelp.ca.gov\" target=\"_blank\">help center\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>\u003cstrong>Listen: Lisa Aliferis interviewed by Rachael Myrow on The California Report\u003c/strong>\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ciframe src=\"https://w.soundcloud.com/player/?url=https%3A//api.soundcloud.com/tracks/134470159&color=ff5500&auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_artwork=true\" frameborder=\"no\" scrolling=\"no\" width=\"100%\" height=\"166\">\u003c/iframe>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[contextly_auto_sidebar id=\"RSznyuFC3LBeY90kYrSLFbczLvTO72cb\"]\u003c/p>\n\n",
"disqusIdentifier": "17652 http://blogs.kqed.org/stateofhealth/?p=17652",
"disqusUrl": "https://ww2.kqed.org/stateofhealth/2014/02/11/youre-enrolled-in-an-obamacare-plan-will-your-doctor-accept-your-insurance/",
"stats": {
"hasVideo": false,
"hasChartOrMap": true,
"hasAudio": true,
"hasPolis": false,
"wordCount": 1247,
"hasGoogleForm": false,
"hasGallery": false,
"hasHearkenModule": false,
"iframeSrcs": [
"https://w.soundcloud.com/player/"
],
"paragraphCount": 32
},
"modified": 1412380076,
"excerpt": "In the six weeks since a half-million people saw their Covered California health insurance plan take effect, those who have needed care have experienced the good, the bad and the ugly of finding a provider who will accept their insurance",
"headData": {
"twImgId": "",
"twTitle": "",
"ogTitle": "",
"ogImgId": "",
"twDescription": "",
"description": "In the six weeks since a half-million people saw their Covered California health insurance plan take effect, those who have needed care have experienced the good, the bad and the ugly of finding a provider who will accept their insurance",
"title": "You're Enrolled in an Obamacare Plan: Will Your Doctor Accept Your Insurance? | KQED",
"ogDescription": "",
"schema": {
"@context": "https://schema.org",
"@type": "Article",
"headline": "You're Enrolled in an Obamacare Plan: Will Your Doctor Accept Your Insurance?",
"datePublished": "2014-02-11T17:17:44-08:00",
"dateModified": "2014-10-03T16:47:56-07:00",
"image": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/KQED-OG-Image@1x.png"
}
},
"guestAuthors": [],
"slug": "youre-enrolled-in-an-obamacare-plan-will-your-doctor-accept-your-insurance",
"status": "publish",
"path": "/stateofhealth/17652/youre-enrolled-in-an-obamacare-plan-will-your-doctor-accept-your-insurance",
"audioTrackLength": null,
"parsedContent": [
{
"type": "contentString",
"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_17667\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 640px\">\u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/stateofhealth/wp-content/uploads/sites/27/2014/02/465043929crop-e1392185195530.jpg\">\u003cimg class=\"size-large wp-image-17667\" title=\"\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/stateofhealth/wp-content/uploads/sites/27/2014/02/465043929crop-640x489.jpg\" alt=\"(Getty Images)\" width=\"640\" height=\"489\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">(Getty Images)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>It's been about six weeks since a half-million people saw their Covered California health insurance plan take effect. And in that time, those who have needed care have experienced the good, the bad and the ugly of finding a provider who will accept their insurance.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Let's start with people who are dealing with some significant challenges.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>I've\u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/stateofhealth/2014/01/21/just-over-500000-people-enrolled-in-covered-california-in-2013-some-report-problems/\" target=\"_blank\"> been following \u003c/a>Sue Kearney of Oakland. After confirming her doctors would take the insurance, she enrolled in an Anthem Blue Cross subsidized PPO plan with Covered California last fall. Then she scheduled appointments for early January. She has ongoing chronic health issues, and the thing she said she needs most is a colonoscopy.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But at her first appointment, she was told that the doctor did not accept any Covered California insurance. Ditto for the other doctors. Kearney set up a screen share with me, logged into her account and confirmed for me that doctors showed up as accepting her insurance, but the office said they didn't when she called them. Ultimately, Kearney was referred to a specific customer service representative with Anthem Blue Cross to help her find an in-network doctor to perform her colonoscopy. I promised to check back in.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c!--more-->\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
"attributes": {
"named": {},
"numeric": []
}
},
{
"type": "component",
"content": "",
"name": "ad",
"attributes": {
"named": {
"label": "fullwidth"
},
"numeric": [
"fullwidth"
]
}
},
{
"type": "contentString",
"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In the meantime, I talked to Larry Levitt, senior vice president at the Kaiser Family Foundation. The Covered California \"exchange has created a much more competitive market, and the main way plans have to control costs is by narrowing networks\" of providers, he said. That's \u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/stateofhealth/2013/11/28/why-narrow-networks-may-not-be-such-a-bad-idea/\" target=\"_blank\">not necessarily a bad thing\u003c/a>. The issue of limiting networks is not new but the implementation of the Affordable Care Act has \"accelerated the trend,\" Levitt said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The other thing the ACA has done is highlight how difficult it is to maintain an accurate provider database. Late last week Covered California \u003ca href=\"http://coveredcanews.blogspot.com/2014/02/covered-california-takes-provider.html\" target=\"_blank\">took down its online database of providers\u003c/a> because it contained too many errors. But Covered California's database can only be as accurate as what is provided by insurance plans. \"It's always been a challenge to nail down these networks,\" Levitt said. \"They're constantly in flux.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Indeed, doctors move from one group to another or are affiliated with a larger group. Plans are negotiated at the group level, but it might not be communicated to individual offices which health insurance they should accept. Or there could be other issues. Darrel Ng, a spokesman with Anthem Blue Cross, said the company has a \"team of people\" whose job is to maintain the database, but its \"urgency and intensity has picked up\" since Jan. 1. He also said that medical groups are contractually required to notify Anthem if a doctor leaves the group -- but he said that doesn't always happen.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Does a provider's office even know what insurance it accepts?\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Heather Tralla or Northridge enrolled in a Blue Shield-subsidized Covered California plan -- the \"Enhanced PPO Covered California\" plan -- last fall. She has multiple sclerosis and, in mid-January, a doctor referred her for two MRIs. Tralla said she logged into her account with Blue Shield to look up facilities that would accept her insurance.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>She then spent more than two weeks trying to find a provider. While her online account showed many facilities, when she called the offices all said they did not accept Covered California insurance. They said they would accept the \"Enhanced PPO\" plan from Blue Shield, but not the \"Covered California\" version. She said supervisors she spoke to at Blue Shield initially told her that the two plans have the same network -- then others told her they have different networks.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Ultimately, Tralla called one of the MRI providers so many times that the office finally called her in early February to say that the provider had signed a contract that day to accept the Covered California plan. She had her two MRIs late last week.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>I contacted Steve Shivinsky, a spokesman for Blue Shield, who told me the networks for their \"Enhanced PPO\" plans are the same. \"It doesn't matter if you purchase (the plan) on or off the exchange,\" he said via email.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But that has clearly not been Tralla's experience. \"I got my MRI taken care of,\" she said. \"But what's going to happen the next time?\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Without insurance, \"I would have wound up in the ER, or probably dead\"\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Then there's Richard Walker of San Francisco. He's the kind of person advocates of a health insurance overhaul talk about. Walker had been uninsured since 2004. In December, he enrolled in an Anthem Blue Cross subsidized plan through Covered California. Walker had delayed medical care until his insurance became effective Jan. 1.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He may have gotten to a doctor in the nick of time.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Upon examination, Walker's physician, Luis Rodriquez of One Medical Group, suspected Walker had \"DVT\" or \u003ca href=\"http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/000156.htm\" target=\"_blank\">deep vein thrombosis\u003c/a> -- a blood clot that had formed in a vein in one of his legs. In a later interview, Rodriguez called it a \"life-threatening\" condition and referred to Walker as a \"ticking time bomb.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Walker needed an ultrasound test immediately. It confirmed the DVT. Treatment was two medications -- a blood-thinner, available as pills, and a second injectable drug, which is very expensive. Walker had only a few hiccups having his insurance cover both the tests and the medications he needed.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Today, he's pretty grateful. While he said he \"had an idea\" something was wrong, \"I would have wound up in the ER or probably dead\" without the Affordable Care Act and the insurance he accessed because of it.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Kearney still waiting\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>After I'd talked to Walker, I checked back in with Kearney. She said she needed a blood transfusion and ended up being hospitalized overnight. While that stay appears to have been covered by her insurance, the Anthem Blue Cross customer service representative she has been working with still has not been able to find an in-network doctor to perform the colonoscopy she needs, she told me.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"Where I'm supposed to go to get these tests is a huge mystery,\" she said -- and she's getting very frustrated.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The question of in-network versus out-of-network hits hard on the pocketbook. Kearney's out-of-pocket maximum is $2,250 -- as long as she stays with in-network providers. If she goes out-of-network, her maximum goes up to $10,000.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Covered California \u003ca href=\"http://coveredcanews.blogspot.com/2013/12/covered-california-unveils-robust.html\" target=\"_blank\">says more than 80 percent\u003c/a> of California doctors are included in the exchange as well as a \"substantial majority\" of the state's hospitals.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>California's Department of Managed Health Care regulates most of the plans offered under Covered California. (One Health Net plan falls under the Department of Insurance purview). Marta Green, a spokeswoman with DMHC, said that plans must have a primary care provider-to-enrollee ratio of 1-to-2,000 and an overall physician-to-enrollee ratio of 1-to-1,200. \"If for some reason the health plan does not have a particular type of specialist that an enrollee needs to treat a condition,\" Green said via email, \"then the health plan is obligated to find such a provider and cover those services.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Green added that anyone who is having trouble accessing care through his or her insurance can contact the department's \u003ca href=\"http://www.HealthHelp.ca.gov\" target=\"_blank\">help center\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>\u003cstrong>Listen: Lisa Aliferis interviewed by Rachael Myrow on The California Report\u003c/strong>\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ciframe src=\"https://w.soundcloud.com/player/?url=https%3A//api.soundcloud.com/tracks/134470159&color=ff5500&auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_artwork=true\" frameborder=\"no\" scrolling=\"no\" width=\"100%\" height=\"166\">\u003c/iframe>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
"attributes": {
"named": {},
"numeric": []
}
},
{
"type": "component",
"content": "",
"name": "ad",
"attributes": {
"named": {
"label": "floatright"
},
"numeric": [
"floatright"
]
}
},
{
"type": "contentString",
"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[contextly_auto_sidebar id=\"RSznyuFC3LBeY90kYrSLFbczLvTO72cb\"]\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
"attributes": {
"named": {},
"numeric": []
}
}
],
"link": "/stateofhealth/17652/youre-enrolled-in-an-obamacare-plan-will-your-doctor-accept-your-insurance",
"authors": [
"240"
],
"categories": [
"stateofhealth_15"
],
"tags": [
"stateofhealth_368"
],
"featImg": "stateofhealth_17667",
"label": "stateofhealth"
},
"stateofhealth_17547": {
"type": "posts",
"id": "stateofhealth_17547",
"meta": {
"index": "posts_1716263798",
"site": "stateofhealth",
"id": "17547",
"score": null,
"sort": [
1391767211000
]
},
"parent": 0,
"labelTerm": {
"site": "stateofhealth"
},
"blocks": [],
"publishDate": 1391767211,
"format": "aside",
"disqusTitle": "New Health Plan for the Poor and Elderly Raises Questions",
"title": "New Health Plan for the Poor and Elderly Raises Questions",
"headTitle": "State of Health | KQED News",
"content": "\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_17548\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 640px\">\u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/stateofhealth/wp-content/uploads/sites/27/2014/02/Christina-Kahn-e1391725977223.jpg\">\u003cimg class=\" wp-image-17548 \" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/stateofhealth/wp-content/uploads/sites/27/2014/02/Christina-Kahn-e1391725977223-1024x768.jpg\" alt=\"Christina Kahn, manager of the San Mateo Health Insurance Counseling and Advocacy Program, returns phone calls to local seniors.\" width=\"640\" height=\"368\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Christina Kahn, manager of the San Mateo Health Insurance Counseling and Advocacy Program, returns phone calls to local seniors. (April Dembosky/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>A new experiment in managing the health of older Californians is causing a lot of confusion among seniors. Letters have been hitting mailboxes around the state this week with information about the changes. It’s the second letter in a series of three -- the first went out in January -- and they have been inspiring a lot of calls to county health insurance counseling centers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Why do they keep doing this to us old people?” asks a woman named Andrea, a 72-year-old resident of San Carlos. She called San Mateo County's counseling office when she received her first letter, telling her she was going to be automatically enrolled in a new health plan -- one she’d never heard of and never intended to sign up for.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We get used to one thing and now we have to do something else?\" she said. \"I've gotta call quick. Otherwise I'll get something, and maybe I don't want that.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Christina Kahn, manager of the Health Insurance Counseling and Advocacy Program of San Mateo County, has been returning phone calls like Andrea’s to explain.\u003c!--more-->\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The new health program is called \u003ca href=\"http://www.dhcs.ca.gov/Pages/DualsDemonstration.aspx\">Cal MediConnect\u003c/a>. It’s part of a national pilot project under the Affordable Care Act aimed at helping the country’s sickest patients get better care. More than 1 million people in the state currently receive health benefits from two government programs: Medi-Cal for people who are low income \u003cem>and \u003c/em>Medicare for people over 65 and the disabled. In policy circles, they're known as the \"dual eligibles.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ciframe src=\"https://w.soundcloud.com/player/?url=https%3A//api.soundcloud.com/tracks/133583680&color=ff5500&auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_artwork=true\" frameborder=\"no\" scrolling=\"no\" width=\"100%\" height=\"166\">\u003c/iframe>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The new project streamlines the two plans into one for this population. It also incorporates community-based services and in-home services, all under one umbrella. Kahn says this should make it easier for seniors to use their benefits, and hopefully, save the state some money.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“But really the overall goal is to keep people at home,” she says, “and to prevent them from being admitted into a skilled nursing facility, which is really expensive for Medi-Cal to pay for.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The goal is also to coordinate care better for this frail group. The new plans will pay care coordinators to help seniors get services from local nonprofits. It now covers the costs of installing a grab bar in a bathtub to prevent falls, for example, or a taxi to the doctor, so people don’t skip appointments because they can’t find a ride. Kahn says this will help keep people healthy and at home at a time when the aging population is outpacing the capacity of institutional care.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We don’t have enough convalescent homes to take care of people in our county,” she says. “Real estate is really expensive, and it’s not easy for a skilled nursing facility to stay afloat.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Moving too fast?\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>California is one of nine states that was approved by federal agencies to participate in the three-year pilot project. It’s one of the first to get started. Seven counties are affected. San Mateo, San Diego, San Bernardino and Riverside are sending letters now to people whose new plans will go into effect in April and May. Alameda and Los Angeles plans take effect in July, and Santa Clara will start next January. An eighth county, Orange, is on hold indefinitely.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Some advocates say the state is moving too fast, too soon.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“California’s demonstration has been the most controversial because it’s so much more ambitious,” says Kevin Prindiville, executive director of the National Senior Citizens Law Center, based in Oakland.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>About half a million Californians will be transferred into the new test program, and he’s worried counseling centers won’t have enough resources to ensure a smooth transition.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We don’t think there’s been enough federal money or enough state money or enough of a lead time to train those folks on what’s happening and for those agencies to get beefed up to answer the demand,” he says.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Kahn says people calling the San Mateo counseling office generally have two questions: “Providers. Are my providers covered? And then they’ll ask how to opt out.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In the San Mateo plan, for example, some specialists at UC San Francisco aren’t covered. Kahn says rather than getting a chance to explain the virtues of the program, she’s mainly helping people like Andrea sidestep the automatic enrollment and keep their current plans.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I know through Obama, everything’s changing,” she says. “But, when I’m offered basically what I had before, I figured it worked, so why change it?”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Kahn says it will take some time before seniors understand how the program might help them.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>If you believe you are affected by the new Cal MediConnect program and have questions, call 800-434-0222 to be connected to the Health Insurance Counseling and Advocacy Program in your county.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n",
"disqusIdentifier": "17547 http://blogs.kqed.org/stateofhealth/?p=17547",
"disqusUrl": "https://ww2.kqed.org/stateofhealth/2014/02/07/new-health-plan-for-the-poor-elderly-dual-eligible-raises-questions/",
"stats": {
"hasVideo": false,
"hasChartOrMap": true,
"hasAudio": true,
"hasPolis": false,
"wordCount": 881,
"hasGoogleForm": false,
"hasGallery": false,
"hasHearkenModule": false,
"iframeSrcs": [
"https://w.soundcloud.com/player/"
],
"paragraphCount": 23
},
"modified": 1391799493,
"excerpt": "An experiment in managing the health of older Californians is causing a lot of confusion among seniors. Letters have been hitting mailboxes around the state this week with information about the changes. It’s the second letter in a series of three -- the first went out in January -- and they have been inspiring a lot of calls to county health insurance counseling centers.\r\n",
"headData": {
"twImgId": "",
"twTitle": "",
"ogTitle": "",
"ogImgId": "",
"twDescription": "",
"description": "An experiment in managing the health of older Californians is causing a lot of confusion among seniors. Letters have been hitting mailboxes around the state this week with information about the changes. It’s the second letter in a series of three -- the first went out in January -- and they have been inspiring a lot of calls to county health insurance counseling centers.\r\n",
"title": "New Health Plan for the Poor and Elderly Raises Questions | KQED",
"ogDescription": "",
"schema": {
"@context": "https://schema.org",
"@type": "Article",
"headline": "New Health Plan for the Poor and Elderly Raises Questions",
"datePublished": "2014-02-07T02:00:11-08:00",
"dateModified": "2014-02-07T10:58:13-08:00",
"image": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/KQED-OG-Image@1x.png"
}
},
"guestAuthors": [],
"slug": "new-health-plan-for-the-poor-elderly-dual-eligible-raises-questions",
"status": "publish",
"path": "/stateofhealth/17547/new-health-plan-for-the-poor-elderly-dual-eligible-raises-questions",
"audioTrackLength": null,
"parsedContent": [
{
"type": "contentString",
"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_17548\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 640px\">\u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/stateofhealth/wp-content/uploads/sites/27/2014/02/Christina-Kahn-e1391725977223.jpg\">\u003cimg class=\" wp-image-17548 \" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/stateofhealth/wp-content/uploads/sites/27/2014/02/Christina-Kahn-e1391725977223-1024x768.jpg\" alt=\"Christina Kahn, manager of the San Mateo Health Insurance Counseling and Advocacy Program, returns phone calls to local seniors.\" width=\"640\" height=\"368\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Christina Kahn, manager of the San Mateo Health Insurance Counseling and Advocacy Program, returns phone calls to local seniors. (April Dembosky/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>A new experiment in managing the health of older Californians is causing a lot of confusion among seniors. Letters have been hitting mailboxes around the state this week with information about the changes. It’s the second letter in a series of three -- the first went out in January -- and they have been inspiring a lot of calls to county health insurance counseling centers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Why do they keep doing this to us old people?” asks a woman named Andrea, a 72-year-old resident of San Carlos. She called San Mateo County's counseling office when she received her first letter, telling her she was going to be automatically enrolled in a new health plan -- one she’d never heard of and never intended to sign up for.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We get used to one thing and now we have to do something else?\" she said. \"I've gotta call quick. Otherwise I'll get something, and maybe I don't want that.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Christina Kahn, manager of the Health Insurance Counseling and Advocacy Program of San Mateo County, has been returning phone calls like Andrea’s to explain.\u003c!--more-->\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The new health program is called \u003ca href=\"http://www.dhcs.ca.gov/Pages/DualsDemonstration.aspx\">Cal MediConnect\u003c/a>. It’s part of a national pilot project under the Affordable Care Act aimed at helping the country’s sickest patients get better care. More than 1 million people in the state currently receive health benefits from two government programs: Medi-Cal for people who are low income \u003cem>and \u003c/em>Medicare for people over 65 and the disabled. In policy circles, they're known as the \"dual eligibles.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
"attributes": {
"named": {},
"numeric": []
}
},
{
"type": "component",
"content": "",
"name": "ad",
"attributes": {
"named": {
"label": "fullwidth"
},
"numeric": [
"fullwidth"
]
}
},
{
"type": "contentString",
"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ciframe src=\"https://w.soundcloud.com/player/?url=https%3A//api.soundcloud.com/tracks/133583680&color=ff5500&auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_artwork=true\" frameborder=\"no\" scrolling=\"no\" width=\"100%\" height=\"166\">\u003c/iframe>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The new project streamlines the two plans into one for this population. It also incorporates community-based services and in-home services, all under one umbrella. Kahn says this should make it easier for seniors to use their benefits, and hopefully, save the state some money.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“But really the overall goal is to keep people at home,” she says, “and to prevent them from being admitted into a skilled nursing facility, which is really expensive for Medi-Cal to pay for.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The goal is also to coordinate care better for this frail group. The new plans will pay care coordinators to help seniors get services from local nonprofits. It now covers the costs of installing a grab bar in a bathtub to prevent falls, for example, or a taxi to the doctor, so people don’t skip appointments because they can’t find a ride. Kahn says this will help keep people healthy and at home at a time when the aging population is outpacing the capacity of institutional care.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We don’t have enough convalescent homes to take care of people in our county,” she says. “Real estate is really expensive, and it’s not easy for a skilled nursing facility to stay afloat.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Moving too fast?\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>California is one of nine states that was approved by federal agencies to participate in the three-year pilot project. It’s one of the first to get started. Seven counties are affected. San Mateo, San Diego, San Bernardino and Riverside are sending letters now to people whose new plans will go into effect in April and May. Alameda and Los Angeles plans take effect in July, and Santa Clara will start next January. An eighth county, Orange, is on hold indefinitely.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Some advocates say the state is moving too fast, too soon.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“California’s demonstration has been the most controversial because it’s so much more ambitious,” says Kevin Prindiville, executive director of the National Senior Citizens Law Center, based in Oakland.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>About half a million Californians will be transferred into the new test program, and he’s worried counseling centers won’t have enough resources to ensure a smooth transition.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We don’t think there’s been enough federal money or enough state money or enough of a lead time to train those folks on what’s happening and for those agencies to get beefed up to answer the demand,” he says.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Kahn says people calling the San Mateo counseling office generally have two questions: “Providers. Are my providers covered? And then they’ll ask how to opt out.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In the San Mateo plan, for example, some specialists at UC San Francisco aren’t covered. Kahn says rather than getting a chance to explain the virtues of the program, she’s mainly helping people like Andrea sidestep the automatic enrollment and keep their current plans.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I know through Obama, everything’s changing,” she says. “But, when I’m offered basically what I had before, I figured it worked, so why change it?”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Kahn says it will take some time before seniors understand how the program might help them.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>If you believe you are affected by the new Cal MediConnect program and have questions, call 800-434-0222 to be connected to the Health Insurance Counseling and Advocacy Program in your county.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
"attributes": {
"named": {},
"numeric": []
}
}
],
"link": "/stateofhealth/17547/new-health-plan-for-the-poor-elderly-dual-eligible-raises-questions",
"authors": [
"3205"
],
"categories": [
"stateofhealth_15",
"stateofhealth_14"
],
"tags": [
"stateofhealth_99",
"stateofhealth_105"
],
"label": "stateofhealth"
},
"stateofhealth_17407": {
"type": "posts",
"id": "stateofhealth_17407",
"meta": {
"index": "posts_1716263798",
"site": "stateofhealth",
"id": "17407",
"score": null,
"sort": [
1391201999000
]
},
"parent": 0,
"labelTerm": {
"site": "stateofhealth"
},
"blocks": [],
"publishDate": 1391201999,
"format": "aside",
"disqusTitle": "Voting Advocates Say Covered California Can Do More to Increase Voter Registration",
"title": "Voting Advocates Say Covered California Can Do More to Increase Voter Registration",
"headTitle": "State of Health | KQED News",
"content": "\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_15995\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 640px\">\u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/stateofhealth/wp-content/uploads/sites/27/2013/10/RS3725_voetstickers320121005-scr-e1383261666265.jpg\">\u003cimg class=\"size-large wp-image-15995\" title=\"\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/stateofhealth/wp-content/uploads/sites/27/2013/10/RS3725_voetstickers320121005-scr-640x426.jpg\" alt=\"(David McNew/Getty Images)\" width=\"640\" height=\"426\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">(David McNew/Getty Images)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>By Sara Hossaini\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Just two days after President Obama called for voting reforms, the National Commission on Voting Rights met in San Francisco to get an overview of elections and voting in the U.S.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The hearing is part of a national fact-finding effort that will inform a report to be presented to the U.S. congress in the spring addressing barriers to voter participation across the country.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>So what's a voting rights story doing on a health blog? Thursday's panels and public testimony included voter rights advocates who say Covered California is falling down on its legal duty to give users an opportunity to register to vote. The 1993 \"motor voter act\" requires that any agency that provides public assistance, including the DMV -- and now, Covered California -- offer voter registration to the public.\u003c!--more-->\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>More than a million Californians have completed applications for health care coverage -- either a private insurance plan or Medi-Cal -- through the Covered California website.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Speakers at the hearing called it a missed opportunity.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Former California Supreme Court Justice Cruz Reynoso presided over the\u003ca href=\"http://www.lawyerscommittee.org/newsroom/press_releases?id=0397\" target=\"_blank\"> fact-finding hearing\u003c/a> organized by the nonprofit Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights Under Law. Reynoso says the trouble isn’t a lack of good laws, it’s enforcement and possibly a lack of resources funneled down to help agencies do the work.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Public agencies are not doing their job in increasing the registration rate,\" Reynoso said, \"and presumably you have more people registered, more people would vote.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>ACLU California's Lori Shellenberger says that people are slipping through the cracks. “We know that people who have been excluded from our health care system are the same people that have been excluded from our democracy.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Shellenberger says the two groups closely mirror each other in size and demographics. She says there are approximately 6 million non-registered eligible voters in California as compared to 5.5 million Californians without health insurance. In other words, one in four people that could sign up to vote, don’t.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Last November, KQED’s Scott Shafer reported that the California Health Benefit Exchange Board was taking a “\u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/stateofhealth/2013/11/01/will-democrats-gain-voter-registration-advantage-through-obamacare-aca/\" target=\"_blank\">phased in\u003c/a>” approach to voter registration, presumably making sure the health insurance part is working well first.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Covered California says it has since introduced a small ‘Register to Vote’ link, but it's buried on its website in a place consumers might not be inclined to look. The link connects users to the California Secretary of State’s voter registration portal.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Shellenberger is not satisfied and points out the National Voter Registration Act requires that state agencies that provide public assistance must also offer voter registration material to anyone they help.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Covered California cannot skirt its NVRA responsibilities by placing links in random places on its website,\" Shellenberger said. \"The voter registration question and assistance with completing the voter registration application must be fully incorporated into all of Covered California's application processes, whether they be online, in person, by mail or though its call-in service centers.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It’s clear Covered California has a lot on its plate, but many are still wondering how hard it could be to guide users? The upside is obvious, and the reality stark: California has the \u003ca href=\"http://www.eac.gov/assets/1/Page/990-050%20EAC%20VoterSurvey_508Compliant.pdf\" target=\"_blank\">5th lowest voter turnout ranking 47th in the nation\u003c/a> with less than half of eligible Californians showing up at the polls.\u003c/p>\n\n",
"disqusIdentifier": "17407 http://blogs.kqed.org/stateofhealth/?p=17407",
"disqusUrl": "https://ww2.kqed.org/stateofhealth/2014/01/31/voting-advocates-say-covered-california-can-do-more-to-increase-voter-registration/",
"stats": {
"hasVideo": false,
"hasChartOrMap": false,
"hasAudio": false,
"hasPolis": false,
"wordCount": 583,
"hasGoogleForm": false,
"hasGallery": false,
"hasHearkenModule": false,
"iframeSrcs": [],
"paragraphCount": 17
},
"modified": 1391516706,
"excerpt": "So what's a voting rights story doing on a health blog? Thursday's panels and public testimony included voter rights advocates who say Covered California is falling down on its legal duty to give users an opportunity to register to vote. The 1993 \"motor voter act\" requires that any agency that provides public assistance, including the DMV -- and now, Covered California -- offer voter registration to the public.",
"headData": {
"twImgId": "",
"twTitle": "",
"ogTitle": "",
"ogImgId": "",
"twDescription": "",
"description": "So what's a voting rights story doing on a health blog? Thursday's panels and public testimony included voter rights advocates who say Covered California is falling down on its legal duty to give users an opportunity to register to vote. The 1993 "motor voter act" requires that any agency that provides public assistance, including the DMV -- and now, Covered California -- offer voter registration to the public.",
"title": "Voting Advocates Say Covered California Can Do More to Increase Voter Registration | KQED",
"ogDescription": "",
"schema": {
"@context": "https://schema.org",
"@type": "Article",
"headline": "Voting Advocates Say Covered California Can Do More to Increase Voter Registration",
"datePublished": "2014-01-31T12:59:59-08:00",
"dateModified": "2014-02-04T04:25:06-08:00",
"image": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/KQED-OG-Image@1x.png"
}
},
"guestAuthors": [],
"slug": "voting-advocates-say-covered-california-can-do-more-to-increase-voter-registration",
"status": "publish",
"path": "/stateofhealth/17407/voting-advocates-say-covered-california-can-do-more-to-increase-voter-registration",
"audioTrackLength": null,
"parsedContent": [
{
"type": "contentString",
"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_15995\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 640px\">\u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/stateofhealth/wp-content/uploads/sites/27/2013/10/RS3725_voetstickers320121005-scr-e1383261666265.jpg\">\u003cimg class=\"size-large wp-image-15995\" title=\"\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/stateofhealth/wp-content/uploads/sites/27/2013/10/RS3725_voetstickers320121005-scr-640x426.jpg\" alt=\"(David McNew/Getty Images)\" width=\"640\" height=\"426\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">(David McNew/Getty Images)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>By Sara Hossaini\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Just two days after President Obama called for voting reforms, the National Commission on Voting Rights met in San Francisco to get an overview of elections and voting in the U.S.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The hearing is part of a national fact-finding effort that will inform a report to be presented to the U.S. congress in the spring addressing barriers to voter participation across the country.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>So what's a voting rights story doing on a health blog? Thursday's panels and public testimony included voter rights advocates who say Covered California is falling down on its legal duty to give users an opportunity to register to vote. The 1993 \"motor voter act\" requires that any agency that provides public assistance, including the DMV -- and now, Covered California -- offer voter registration to the public.\u003c!--more-->\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>More than a million Californians have completed applications for health care coverage -- either a private insurance plan or Medi-Cal -- through the Covered California website.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
"attributes": {
"named": {},
"numeric": []
}
},
{
"type": "component",
"content": "",
"name": "ad",
"attributes": {
"named": {
"label": "fullwidth"
},
"numeric": [
"fullwidth"
]
}
},
{
"type": "contentString",
"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Speakers at the hearing called it a missed opportunity.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Former California Supreme Court Justice Cruz Reynoso presided over the\u003ca href=\"http://www.lawyerscommittee.org/newsroom/press_releases?id=0397\" target=\"_blank\"> fact-finding hearing\u003c/a> organized by the nonprofit Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights Under Law. Reynoso says the trouble isn’t a lack of good laws, it’s enforcement and possibly a lack of resources funneled down to help agencies do the work.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Public agencies are not doing their job in increasing the registration rate,\" Reynoso said, \"and presumably you have more people registered, more people would vote.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>ACLU California's Lori Shellenberger says that people are slipping through the cracks. “We know that people who have been excluded from our health care system are the same people that have been excluded from our democracy.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Shellenberger says the two groups closely mirror each other in size and demographics. She says there are approximately 6 million non-registered eligible voters in California as compared to 5.5 million Californians without health insurance. In other words, one in four people that could sign up to vote, don’t.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Last November, KQED’s Scott Shafer reported that the California Health Benefit Exchange Board was taking a “\u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/stateofhealth/2013/11/01/will-democrats-gain-voter-registration-advantage-through-obamacare-aca/\" target=\"_blank\">phased in\u003c/a>” approach to voter registration, presumably making sure the health insurance part is working well first.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Covered California says it has since introduced a small ‘Register to Vote’ link, but it's buried on its website in a place consumers might not be inclined to look. The link connects users to the California Secretary of State’s voter registration portal.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Shellenberger is not satisfied and points out the National Voter Registration Act requires that state agencies that provide public assistance must also offer voter registration material to anyone they help.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Covered California cannot skirt its NVRA responsibilities by placing links in random places on its website,\" Shellenberger said. \"The voter registration question and assistance with completing the voter registration application must be fully incorporated into all of Covered California's application processes, whether they be online, in person, by mail or though its call-in service centers.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It’s clear Covered California has a lot on its plate, but many are still wondering how hard it could be to guide users? The upside is obvious, and the reality stark: California has the \u003ca href=\"http://www.eac.gov/assets/1/Page/990-050%20EAC%20VoterSurvey_508Compliant.pdf\" target=\"_blank\">5th lowest voter turnout ranking 47th in the nation\u003c/a> with less than half of eligible Californians showing up at the polls.\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
"attributes": {
"named": {},
"numeric": []
}
}
],
"link": "/stateofhealth/17407/voting-advocates-say-covered-california-can-do-more-to-increase-voter-registration",
"authors": [
"240"
],
"categories": [
"stateofhealth_15"
],
"tags": [
"stateofhealth_368"
],
"featImg": "stateofhealth_15995",
"label": "stateofhealth"
},
"stateofhealth_17391": {
"type": "posts",
"id": "stateofhealth_17391",
"meta": {
"index": "posts_1716263798",
"site": "stateofhealth",
"id": "17391",
"score": null,
"sort": [
1391114013000
]
},
"parent": 0,
"labelTerm": {
"site": "stateofhealth"
},
"blocks": [],
"publishDate": 1391114013,
"format": "aside",
"disqusTitle": "Covered California Among First Exchanges to Post Customer Quality Ratings",
"title": "Covered California Among First Exchanges to Post Customer Quality Ratings",
"headTitle": "State of Health | KQED News",
"content": "\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_17396\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 640px\">\u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/stateofhealth/wp-content/uploads/sites/27/2014/01/Screen-Shot-2014-01-30-at-12.22.56-PM-e1391113903907.png\">\u003cimg class=\"size-large wp-image-17396\" title=\"\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/stateofhealth/wp-content/uploads/sites/27/2014/01/Screen-Shot-2014-01-30-at-12.22.56-PM-640x288.png\" alt=\"The ratings are on a 4-star rating with 4 being high. (screenshot from Covered California)\" width=\"640\" height=\"288\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Plans are rated with 1-4 stars, with 4 being high. (screenshot from Covered California)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Anna Gorman,\u003c/strong>\u003ca href=\"http://capsules.kaiserhealthnews.org/index.php/2014/01/california-marketplace-among-first-to-post-customer-health-plan-ratings/\" target=\"_blank\"> Kaiser Health News\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Californians shopping for insurance policies through the state’s online marketplace can now compare plans based on customer quality ratings as well as cost.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Covered California assigned star ratings to the health plans based on member survey responses. Each health insurance plan is compared with results of other plans across the western United States. The surveys were taken before the insurance marketplace opened, so they only compare plans that had a track record beforehand.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.coveredca.com/hbex/insurance-companies/qrs.html\">The ratings\u003c/a> cover such topics as access to medical appointments, customer service and the quality of medical care and are from the federal government's \u003ca href=\"https://cahps.ahrq.gov\" target=\"_blank\">Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan>Consumers can purchase individual policies through the exchange and many are eligible for financial help paying their premiums. For coverage this year, they have until March 31 to enroll.\u003c!--more-->\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>California is one of the first states to make quality information on health plans available to consumers, ahead of the 2016 federal requirement. The federal government, which is running the marketplaces in 36 states, is not yet providing quality data and hasn’t released regulations guiding states on how they should.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>States that are reporting quality information or are planning to this year, including Colorado, Maryland and Connecticut, have taken different approaches. Some are linking consumers to existing report cards, while others are creating new measures.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The decision over whether to make the California’s ratings public sparked a contentious debate last year among consumer advocates, health plans and the staff and board members of Covered California.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Covered California initially planned to not post quality ratings to the website, but consumer advocates pushed back. Anthony Wright, executive director of Health Access California, said this week that the quality ratings “make insurers compete not on avoiding sick people but on cost and quality.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Insurers with longstanding histories in the commercial market urged the exchange to post star ratings on the website as soon as possible. They argued that consumers deserved to know that their plans had performed well in customer satisfaction surveys and in the perceived quality of the care provided to patients. But other plans urged the board to postpone putting the ratings on the website, saying that they would be at a disadvantage because they were newer to the commercial market or didn’t have a score.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Covered California Executive Director Peter Lee said the ratings are preliminary but will help consumers as they choose health plans in their regions. The exchange plans to add more thorough quality information in the future, including both clinical data and member surveys on hospitals, medical groups and physicians.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The consumer quality data is divided by region. In Los Angeles County, Kaiser Permanente was the only insurer that received the top rating of four stars. In Sacramento, Western Health Advantage and Kaiser Permanente received four stars.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The controversy underscores the issues facing the health marketplaces as they decide what kind of quality information to make public about the plans and when to do so.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s important to take on quality because it can really translate to better outcomes or worse outcomes,” said Sarah Thomas, a vice president at the nonprofit National Committee for Quality Assurance. “It can really affect health.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Consumer advocates said they hoped that more information about medical outcomes and patient safety would be available soon.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Is it all we want? No,” said Betsy Imholz of Consumers Union. “It’s a first step.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cdiv>\u003c/div>\n\n",
"disqusIdentifier": "17391 http://blogs.kqed.org/stateofhealth/?p=17391",
"disqusUrl": "https://ww2.kqed.org/stateofhealth/2014/01/30/covered-california-among-first-exchanges-to-post-customer-quality-ratings/",
"stats": {
"hasVideo": false,
"hasChartOrMap": false,
"hasAudio": false,
"hasPolis": false,
"wordCount": 612,
"hasGoogleForm": false,
"hasGallery": false,
"hasHearkenModule": false,
"iframeSrcs": [],
"paragraphCount": 18
},
"modified": 1391114013,
"excerpt": "Californians shopping for insurance policies through the state’s online marketplace can now compare plans based on customer quality ratings as well as cost.\r\n\r\nCovered California assigned star ratings to the health plans based on member survey responses. The surveys were taken before the insurance marketplace opened, so they only compare plans that had a track record beforehand.\r\n\r\nThe ratings cover such topics as access to medical appointments, customer service and the quality of medical care.\r\n\r\nConsumers can purchase individual policies through the exchange and many are eligible for financial help paying their premiums. For coverage this year, they have until March 31 to enroll.\r\n",
"headData": {
"twImgId": "",
"twTitle": "",
"ogTitle": "",
"ogImgId": "",
"twDescription": "",
"description": "Californians shopping for insurance policies through the state’s online marketplace can now compare plans based on customer quality ratings as well as cost.\r\n\r\nCovered California assigned star ratings to the health plans based on member survey responses. The surveys were taken before the insurance marketplace opened, so they only compare plans that had a track record beforehand.\r\n\r\nThe ratings cover such topics as access to medical appointments, customer service and the quality of medical care.\r\n\r\nConsumers can purchase individual policies through the exchange and many are eligible for financial help paying their premiums. For coverage this year, they have until March 31 to enroll.\r\n",
"title": "Covered California Among First Exchanges to Post Customer Quality Ratings | KQED",
"ogDescription": "",
"schema": {
"@context": "https://schema.org",
"@type": "Article",
"headline": "Covered California Among First Exchanges to Post Customer Quality Ratings",
"datePublished": "2014-01-30T12:33:33-08:00",
"dateModified": "2014-01-30T12:33:33-08:00",
"image": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/KQED-OG-Image@1x.png"
}
},
"guestAuthors": [],
"slug": "covered-california-among-first-exchanges-to-post-customer-quality-ratings",
"status": "publish",
"path": "/stateofhealth/17391/covered-california-among-first-exchanges-to-post-customer-quality-ratings",
"audioTrackLength": null,
"parsedContent": [
{
"type": "contentString",
"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_17396\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 640px\">\u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/stateofhealth/wp-content/uploads/sites/27/2014/01/Screen-Shot-2014-01-30-at-12.22.56-PM-e1391113903907.png\">\u003cimg class=\"size-large wp-image-17396\" title=\"\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/stateofhealth/wp-content/uploads/sites/27/2014/01/Screen-Shot-2014-01-30-at-12.22.56-PM-640x288.png\" alt=\"The ratings are on a 4-star rating with 4 being high. (screenshot from Covered California)\" width=\"640\" height=\"288\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Plans are rated with 1-4 stars, with 4 being high. (screenshot from Covered California)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Anna Gorman,\u003c/strong>\u003ca href=\"http://capsules.kaiserhealthnews.org/index.php/2014/01/california-marketplace-among-first-to-post-customer-health-plan-ratings/\" target=\"_blank\"> Kaiser Health News\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Californians shopping for insurance policies through the state’s online marketplace can now compare plans based on customer quality ratings as well as cost.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Covered California assigned star ratings to the health plans based on member survey responses. Each health insurance plan is compared with results of other plans across the western United States. The surveys were taken before the insurance marketplace opened, so they only compare plans that had a track record beforehand.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.coveredca.com/hbex/insurance-companies/qrs.html\">The ratings\u003c/a> cover such topics as access to medical appointments, customer service and the quality of medical care and are from the federal government's \u003ca href=\"https://cahps.ahrq.gov\" target=\"_blank\">Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan>Consumers can purchase individual policies through the exchange and many are eligible for financial help paying their premiums. For coverage this year, they have until March 31 to enroll.\u003c!--more-->\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
"attributes": {
"named": {},
"numeric": []
}
},
{
"type": "component",
"content": "",
"name": "ad",
"attributes": {
"named": {
"label": "fullwidth"
},
"numeric": [
"fullwidth"
]
}
},
{
"type": "contentString",
"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>California is one of the first states to make quality information on health plans available to consumers, ahead of the 2016 federal requirement. The federal government, which is running the marketplaces in 36 states, is not yet providing quality data and hasn’t released regulations guiding states on how they should.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>States that are reporting quality information or are planning to this year, including Colorado, Maryland and Connecticut, have taken different approaches. Some are linking consumers to existing report cards, while others are creating new measures.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The decision over whether to make the California’s ratings public sparked a contentious debate last year among consumer advocates, health plans and the staff and board members of Covered California.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Covered California initially planned to not post quality ratings to the website, but consumer advocates pushed back. Anthony Wright, executive director of Health Access California, said this week that the quality ratings “make insurers compete not on avoiding sick people but on cost and quality.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Insurers with longstanding histories in the commercial market urged the exchange to post star ratings on the website as soon as possible. They argued that consumers deserved to know that their plans had performed well in customer satisfaction surveys and in the perceived quality of the care provided to patients. But other plans urged the board to postpone putting the ratings on the website, saying that they would be at a disadvantage because they were newer to the commercial market or didn’t have a score.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Covered California Executive Director Peter Lee said the ratings are preliminary but will help consumers as they choose health plans in their regions. The exchange plans to add more thorough quality information in the future, including both clinical data and member surveys on hospitals, medical groups and physicians.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The consumer quality data is divided by region. In Los Angeles County, Kaiser Permanente was the only insurer that received the top rating of four stars. In Sacramento, Western Health Advantage and Kaiser Permanente received four stars.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The controversy underscores the issues facing the health marketplaces as they decide what kind of quality information to make public about the plans and when to do so.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s important to take on quality because it can really translate to better outcomes or worse outcomes,” said Sarah Thomas, a vice president at the nonprofit National Committee for Quality Assurance. “It can really affect health.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Consumer advocates said they hoped that more information about medical outcomes and patient safety would be available soon.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Is it all we want? No,” said Betsy Imholz of Consumers Union. “It’s a first step.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cdiv>\u003c/div>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
"attributes": {
"named": {},
"numeric": []
}
}
],
"link": "/stateofhealth/17391/covered-california-among-first-exchanges-to-post-customer-quality-ratings",
"authors": [
"8344"
],
"categories": [
"stateofhealth_15"
],
"tags": [
"stateofhealth_368"
],
"featImg": "stateofhealth_17396",
"label": "stateofhealth"
},
"stateofhealth_17378": {
"type": "posts",
"id": "stateofhealth_17378",
"meta": {
"index": "posts_1716263798",
"site": "stateofhealth",
"id": "17378",
"score": null,
"sort": [
1391038668000
]
},
"parent": 0,
"labelTerm": {
"site": "stateofhealth"
},
"blocks": [],
"publishDate": 1391038668,
"format": "aside",
"disqusTitle": "Health Insurers Extend Deadline for February Premiums, Too",
"title": "Health Insurers Extend Deadline for February Premiums, Too",
"headTitle": "State of Health | KQED News",
"content": "\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13022\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 620px\">\u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/stateofhealth/wp-content/uploads/sites/27/2013/05/96226495-e1382074913159.jpg\">\u003cimg class=\"size-large wp-image-13022\" title=\"\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/stateofhealth/wp-content/uploads/sites/27/2013/05/96226495-620x413.jpg\" alt=\"(Getty Images)\" width=\"620\" height=\"413\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">(Getty Images)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Covered California says that yesterday was the deadline to pay your February premiums. But some of California's biggest insurers have extended their deadlines.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Here are new dates for three major carriers:\u003c/p>\n\u003cul>\n\u003cli>\u003cstrong>Blue Shield\u003c/strong>: deadline is Friday, Feb. 14 for people who signed up for coverage starting Feb. 1.\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>\u003cstrong>HealthNet: \u003c/strong>For people who signed up for coverage beginning Feb. 1, you have until Feb 15 to make your first premium payment. You can \u003ca href=\"https://www.healthnet.com/portal/member/content/iwc/home/articles/aca_welcome.action\" target=\"_blank\">pay by phone\u003c/a>. \u003c!--more-->\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>\u003cstrong>Kaiser\u003c/strong>: deadline is now Tuesday, Feb. 18\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>\u003cstrong>Anthem Blue Cross\u003c/strong>: for ongoing members, the deadline is Jan. 31 (although there's a one month grace period before cancellation). New members who signed up for coverage that starts on Feb. 1, have until Monday, Feb. 10 to make their premium payment.\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>\u003cstrong>L.A. Care\u003c/strong>: deadline for participants in \"L.A. Care Covered,\" its Covered California health plan, is now Feb. 21.\u003c/li>\n\u003c/ul>\n\u003cp>A colleague told me \u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/stateofhealth/2014/01/28/covered-california-the-cobra-glitch/\" target=\"_blank\">yesterday \u003c/a>that her husband had spent 2 and a half hours on hold trying to pay his February Kaiser premium, then got cut off and was on hold for another 2 hours. When he finally got through, the operator told him the payment deadline had been extended. He said he asked her why Kaiser didn't put that information in its recording that people listen to when they're on hold.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In an email today explaining the payment extension, a Kaiser spokesperson wrote: \"We are sorry for any difficulties that members experience in contacting our call centers. We are experiencing extremely high call volumes and are working quickly to further extend our capacity.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>On Health Net's website detailing the change, it says: \"Health Net extended the deadline because it's really important to us that you have health insurance coverage.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>\u003cem>This post has been updated to include Anthem Blue Cross and LA Care deadlines and to reflect Blue Shield most recent extension of its deadline for payment.\u003c/em>\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\n",
"disqusIdentifier": "17378 http://blogs.kqed.org/stateofhealth/?p=17378",
"disqusUrl": "https://ww2.kqed.org/stateofhealth/2014/01/29/health-insurers-extend-deadline-for-february-premiums-too/",
"stats": {
"hasVideo": false,
"hasChartOrMap": false,
"hasAudio": false,
"hasPolis": false,
"wordCount": 324,
"hasGoogleForm": false,
"hasGallery": false,
"hasHearkenModule": false,
"iframeSrcs": [],
"paragraphCount": 8
},
"modified": 1391516930,
"excerpt": "Covered California says that yesterday was the deadline to pay your February premiums. But some of California's biggest insurers have extended their deadlines. \r\nHere are new dates for three major carriers:",
"headData": {
"twImgId": "",
"twTitle": "",
"ogTitle": "",
"ogImgId": "",
"twDescription": "",
"description": "Covered California says that yesterday was the deadline to pay your February premiums. But some of California's biggest insurers have extended their deadlines. \r\nHere are new dates for three major carriers:",
"title": "Health Insurers Extend Deadline for February Premiums, Too | KQED",
"ogDescription": "",
"schema": {
"@context": "https://schema.org",
"@type": "Article",
"headline": "Health Insurers Extend Deadline for February Premiums, Too",
"datePublished": "2014-01-29T15:37:48-08:00",
"dateModified": "2014-02-04T04:28:50-08:00",
"image": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/KQED-OG-Image@1x.png"
}
},
"guestAuthors": [],
"slug": "health-insurers-extend-deadline-for-february-premiums-too",
"status": "publish",
"path": "/stateofhealth/17378/health-insurers-extend-deadline-for-february-premiums-too",
"audioTrackLength": null,
"parsedContent": [
{
"type": "contentString",
"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13022\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 620px\">\u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/stateofhealth/wp-content/uploads/sites/27/2013/05/96226495-e1382074913159.jpg\">\u003cimg class=\"size-large wp-image-13022\" title=\"\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/stateofhealth/wp-content/uploads/sites/27/2013/05/96226495-620x413.jpg\" alt=\"(Getty Images)\" width=\"620\" height=\"413\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">(Getty Images)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Covered California says that yesterday was the deadline to pay your February premiums. But some of California's biggest insurers have extended their deadlines.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Here are new dates for three major carriers:\u003c/p>\n\u003cul>\n\u003cli>\u003cstrong>Blue Shield\u003c/strong>: deadline is Friday, Feb. 14 for people who signed up for coverage starting Feb. 1.\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>\u003cstrong>HealthNet: \u003c/strong>For people who signed up for coverage beginning Feb. 1, you have until Feb 15 to make your first premium payment. You can \u003ca href=\"https://www.healthnet.com/portal/member/content/iwc/home/articles/aca_welcome.action\" target=\"_blank\">pay by phone\u003c/a>. \u003c!--more-->\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>\u003cstrong>Kaiser\u003c/strong>: deadline is now Tuesday, Feb. 18\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>\u003cstrong>Anthem Blue Cross\u003c/strong>: for ongoing members, the deadline is Jan. 31 (although there's a one month grace period before cancellation). New members who signed up for coverage that starts on Feb. 1, have until Monday, Feb. 10 to make their premium payment.\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>\u003cstrong>L.A. Care\u003c/strong>: deadline for participants in \"L.A. Care Covered,\" its Covered California health plan, is now Feb. 21.\u003c/li>\n\u003c/ul>\n\u003cp>A colleague told me \u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/stateofhealth/2014/01/28/covered-california-the-cobra-glitch/\" target=\"_blank\">yesterday \u003c/a>that her husband had spent 2 and a half hours on hold trying to pay his February Kaiser premium, then got cut off and was on hold for another 2 hours. When he finally got through, the operator told him the payment deadline had been extended. He said he asked her why Kaiser didn't put that information in its recording that people listen to when they're on hold.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In an email today explaining the payment extension, a Kaiser spokesperson wrote: \"We are sorry for any difficulties that members experience in contacting our call centers. We are experiencing extremely high call volumes and are working quickly to further extend our capacity.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>On Health Net's website detailing the change, it says: \"Health Net extended the deadline because it's really important to us that you have health insurance coverage.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
"attributes": {
"named": {},
"numeric": []
}
},
{
"type": "component",
"content": "",
"name": "ad",
"attributes": {
"named": {
"label": "fullwidth"
},
"numeric": [
"fullwidth"
]
}
},
{
"type": "contentString",
"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>\u003cem>This post has been updated to include Anthem Blue Cross and LA Care deadlines and to reflect Blue Shield most recent extension of its deadline for payment.\u003c/em>\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
"attributes": {
"named": {},
"numeric": []
}
}
],
"link": "/stateofhealth/17378/health-insurers-extend-deadline-for-february-premiums-too",
"authors": [
"240"
],
"categories": [
"stateofhealth_15"
],
"tags": [
"stateofhealth_368",
"stateofhealth_261"
],
"featImg": "stateofhealth_13022",
"label": "stateofhealth"
},
"stateofhealth_17355": {
"type": "posts",
"id": "stateofhealth_17355",
"meta": {
"index": "posts_1716263798",
"site": "stateofhealth",
"id": "17355",
"score": null,
"sort": [
1390951129000
]
},
"parent": 0,
"labelTerm": {
"site": "stateofhealth"
},
"blocks": [],
"publishDate": 1390951129,
"format": "aside",
"disqusTitle": "Covered California: The COBRA Glitch",
"title": "Covered California: The COBRA Glitch",
"headTitle": "State of Health | KQED News",
"content": "\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_15508\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 640px\">\u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/stateofhealth/wp-content/uploads/sites/27/2013/10/coveredca.jpg\">\u003cimg class=\"size-full wp-image-15508\" title=\"\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/stateofhealth/wp-content/uploads/sites/27/2013/10/coveredca.jpg\" alt=\"Screenshot from CoveredCA.com, the website of Covered California.\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" srcset=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/27/2013/10/coveredca.jpg 640w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/27/2013/10/coveredca-400x225.jpg 400w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/27/2013/10/coveredca-320x180.jpg 320w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Screenshot from CoveredCA.com, the website of Covered California.\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>\u003cstrong>UPDATE: On May 15, 2014, Covered California \u003ca href=\"http://news.coveredca.com/2014/05/covered-california-creates-limited.html\" target=\"_blank\">announced\u003c/a> a special two-month enrollment period for people on COBRA who want to switch to a Covered California plan.\u003c/strong>\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"Forgive me for intruding upon your personal email,\" Jill Bond wrote me earlier this month.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Bond emailed that she had heard me on \u003ca href=\"http://www.kqed.org/a/forum/R201312160900\" target=\"_blank\">KQED's \"Forum\" discussing Covered California\u003c/a>, and then when a post from me popped up on our neighborhood listserv, she put two and two together and reached out for help. In the months since the Covered California marketplace opened, I have fielded a lot of inquiries from friends and colleagues. I emailed Bond back right away.\u003c/p>\n\u003caside class=\"pullquote alignleft\">Even if you have COBRA now, the only way to enroll in a plan with a subsidy is to say you don't. \u003c/aside>\n\u003cp>Bond told me she had enrolled in a Covered California plan but didn't understand where her subsidy was. When she had reviewed her options for Covered California, the \"shop and compare\" calculator indicated that she qualified for a subsidy -- close to $300 -- but when she actually enrolled, the subsidy was not applied.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And Bond definitely needs the coverage. In 2010, Bond was treated for non-Hodgkin lymphoma. While she's cancer-free now, the aggressive chemotherapy damaged her immune system. She says she needs monthly infusions of antibodies to keep her healthy. The treatment is called IVIG, and it costs a small fortune -- more than $8,000 a month, Bond said.\u003c!--more-->\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Bond outlined her personal situation, and I started running through the various possibilities that could explain where the problem was. She told me her income, and she fell within the range for a subsidy. I couldn't come up with anything that explained why Bond's subsidy was not reflected in her enrollment.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Then I realized one detail she had mentioned that I had overlooked. Bond had been insured through COBRA -- insurance from her former job that she had been paying in full. I knew from Jon Brooks' \u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/stateofhealth/2014/01/14/covered-california-a-personal-obamacare-review/\" target=\"_blank\">story on this blog\u003c/a> that COBRA participation created a glitch for people trying to qualify for subsidies.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>I asked Bond if she had put anywhere on her application that she had insurance via COBRA. Yes, she had. \"There was a drop-down list,\" Bond told me, \"and I had to choose COBRA. There was no other choice that would have been appropriate.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>I asked Bond if she had indicated an end date for her COBRA coverage. She said there was no option for her to do so.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Here's a screen grab from the \"apply\" section of the application:\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_17370\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 640px\">\u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/stateofhealth/wp-content/uploads/sites/27/2014/01/Screen-Shot-2014-01-29-at-9.17.28-AM.png\">\u003cimg class=\"size-large wp-image-17370\" title=\"\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/stateofhealth/wp-content/uploads/sites/27/2014/01/Screen-Shot-2014-01-29-at-9.17.28-AM-640x176.png\" alt=\"Screenshot from Covered California online application. \" width=\"640\" height=\"176\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Screenshot from Covered California online application.\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Here's the problem: People cannot be insured via COBRA and also get a Covered California plan with a subsidy. But that was not what Bond wanted to do. While she had not formally canceled her COBRA insurance, she knew it would cancel automatically when she did not pay her premium. Her intention was not to pay her January premium, which would have retroactively canceled her insurance back to midnight Dec. 31, 2013. Her new Covered California plan had taken effect on Jan. 1.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>When Bond contacted me -- on Jan. 11 -- she had already paid her new Covered California premium in full, nearly $550. The amount of the premium has been hard on her financially. She had been so relieved when she thought she qualified for a subsidy. \"It's really disappointing for me to find out that I'm not actually getting (the subsidy) and then having to come up with the money to pay that premium … it's killing me.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>I suggested that Bond call her COBRA provider and formally cancel her coverage -- and then call Covered California to update her account to qualify for the premium. (As it turns out, it seems you cannot make this change online. Weeks ago, I created a Covered California account. I logged in so I could look at the screen in question. But this part of the application is no longer available for edits once you have finished creating your account. Consumers will need to call Covered California.)\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Anne Gonzales, a spokeswoman for Covered California, confirmed the enrollment issue for people who have COBRA. She pointed out the challenges of blending one complex federal program -- COBRA -- with another, the Affordable Care Act. \"It's difficult to build a system to envision all specific scenarios,\" Gonzales wrote in an email. \"Consumers who have access to COBRA or are covered by COBRA would be wise to get help with enrollment, either in-person or through our Service Center, especially if they feel that they are missing out on qualifying for subsidies.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Gonzales also said that Covered California is \"learning from the startup of our enrollment system, and listening to consumer feedback about what would help them through the process.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Meanwhile, Bond canceled her COBRA policy and then called Covered California. Her subsidy is now applied to her plan and she will pay $256.45 per month. The tax credit saves her $288 monthly.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"This is AMAZING,\" Bond emailed me (capitalization hers). \"I am so relieved. That extra money will really help my family and I don't have to worry about being canceled.\" She's glad to be able to get the transfusions she needs.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But as a final note, she says the Covered California representative she spoke to at the call center says \"that on my enrollment application I should have checked NO to qualifying for health insurance, even COBRA. That doesn't make sense to me, but I am not questioning it at this juncture.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>And Payment Problems, Too\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>My colleague Sarah Baughn enrolled in a Kaiser plan through Covered California. She had a heckuva time trying to pay her January premium. Turns out February is pretty tough, too. When she logged into her account to pay online, she got this error message:\u003cbr>\n\u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/stateofhealth/wp-content/uploads/sites/27/2014/01/2014-01-22_kaiser_payment-copy-e1390950533854.png\">\u003cimg class=\"aligncenter size-large wp-image-17361\" title=\"\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/stateofhealth/wp-content/uploads/sites/27/2014/01/2014-01-22_kaiser_payment-copy-640x363.png\" alt=\"2014-01-22_kaiser_payment copy\" width=\"640\" height=\"363\">\u003c/a>She continued to get that error message every day last week. The automatic phone system did not work. They had also not received a paper invoice.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>On Monday, her husband spent 4.5 hours (that's no typo) on hold before he was finally able to pay the February premium over the phone with a live human being.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Do you have a strange glitch you're experiencing? Leave it in the comments below.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>\u003cstrong>This post has been updated to clarify Anne Gonzales' statements about the intersection of COBRA and the ACA.\u003c/strong>\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n",
"disqusIdentifier": "17355 http://blogs.kqed.org/stateofhealth/?p=17355",
"disqusUrl": "https://ww2.kqed.org/stateofhealth/2014/01/28/covered-california-the-cobra-glitch/",
"stats": {
"hasVideo": false,
"hasChartOrMap": false,
"hasAudio": false,
"hasPolis": false,
"wordCount": 1082,
"hasGoogleForm": false,
"hasGallery": false,
"hasHearkenModule": false,
"iframeSrcs": [],
"paragraphCount": 25
},
"modified": 1401832214,
"excerpt": "Bond told me she had enrolled in a Covered California plan but didn't understand where her subsidy was. When she had reviewed her options for Covered California, the \"shop and compare\" calculator indicated that she qualified for a subsidy -- close to $300 -- but when she actually enrolled, the subsidy was not applied.\r\n\r\nAnd Bond definitely needs the coverage. In 2010, Bond was treated for non-Hodgkin lymphoma. While she's cancer-free now, the aggressive chemotherapy damaged her immune system. She says she needs monthly infusions of antibodies to keep her healthy. The treatment is called IVIG, and it costs a small fortune -- more than $8,000 a month, Bond said.",
"headData": {
"twImgId": "",
"twTitle": "",
"ogTitle": "",
"ogImgId": "",
"twDescription": "",
"description": "Bond told me she had enrolled in a Covered California plan but didn't understand where her subsidy was. When she had reviewed her options for Covered California, the "shop and compare" calculator indicated that she qualified for a subsidy -- close to $300 -- but when she actually enrolled, the subsidy was not applied.\r\n\r\nAnd Bond definitely needs the coverage. In 2010, Bond was treated for non-Hodgkin lymphoma. While she's cancer-free now, the aggressive chemotherapy damaged her immune system. She says she needs monthly infusions of antibodies to keep her healthy. The treatment is called IVIG, and it costs a small fortune -- more than $8,000 a month, Bond said.",
"title": "Covered California: The COBRA Glitch | KQED",
"ogDescription": "",
"schema": {
"@context": "https://schema.org",
"@type": "Article",
"headline": "Covered California: The COBRA Glitch",
"datePublished": "2014-01-28T15:18:49-08:00",
"dateModified": "2014-06-03T14:50:14-07:00",
"image": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/KQED-OG-Image@1x.png"
}
},
"guestAuthors": [],
"slug": "covered-california-the-cobra-glitch",
"status": "publish",
"path": "/stateofhealth/17355/covered-california-the-cobra-glitch",
"audioTrackLength": null,
"parsedContent": [
{
"type": "contentString",
"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_15508\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 640px\">\u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/stateofhealth/wp-content/uploads/sites/27/2013/10/coveredca.jpg\">\u003cimg class=\"size-full wp-image-15508\" title=\"\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/stateofhealth/wp-content/uploads/sites/27/2013/10/coveredca.jpg\" alt=\"Screenshot from CoveredCA.com, the website of Covered California.\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" srcset=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/27/2013/10/coveredca.jpg 640w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/27/2013/10/coveredca-400x225.jpg 400w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/27/2013/10/coveredca-320x180.jpg 320w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Screenshot from CoveredCA.com, the website of Covered California.\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>\u003cstrong>UPDATE: On May 15, 2014, Covered California \u003ca href=\"http://news.coveredca.com/2014/05/covered-california-creates-limited.html\" target=\"_blank\">announced\u003c/a> a special two-month enrollment period for people on COBRA who want to switch to a Covered California plan.\u003c/strong>\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"Forgive me for intruding upon your personal email,\" Jill Bond wrote me earlier this month.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Bond emailed that she had heard me on \u003ca href=\"http://www.kqed.org/a/forum/R201312160900\" target=\"_blank\">KQED's \"Forum\" discussing Covered California\u003c/a>, and then when a post from me popped up on our neighborhood listserv, she put two and two together and reached out for help. In the months since the Covered California marketplace opened, I have fielded a lot of inquiries from friends and colleagues. I emailed Bond back right away.\u003c/p>\n\u003caside class=\"pullquote alignleft\">Even if you have COBRA now, the only way to enroll in a plan with a subsidy is to say you don't. \u003c/aside>\n\u003cp>Bond told me she had enrolled in a Covered California plan but didn't understand where her subsidy was. When she had reviewed her options for Covered California, the \"shop and compare\" calculator indicated that she qualified for a subsidy -- close to $300 -- but when she actually enrolled, the subsidy was not applied.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And Bond definitely needs the coverage. In 2010, Bond was treated for non-Hodgkin lymphoma. While she's cancer-free now, the aggressive chemotherapy damaged her immune system. She says she needs monthly infusions of antibodies to keep her healthy. The treatment is called IVIG, and it costs a small fortune -- more than $8,000 a month, Bond said.\u003c!--more-->\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
"attributes": {
"named": {},
"numeric": []
}
},
{
"type": "component",
"content": "",
"name": "ad",
"attributes": {
"named": {
"label": "fullwidth"
},
"numeric": [
"fullwidth"
]
}
},
{
"type": "contentString",
"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Bond outlined her personal situation, and I started running through the various possibilities that could explain where the problem was. She told me her income, and she fell within the range for a subsidy. I couldn't come up with anything that explained why Bond's subsidy was not reflected in her enrollment.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Then I realized one detail she had mentioned that I had overlooked. Bond had been insured through COBRA -- insurance from her former job that she had been paying in full. I knew from Jon Brooks' \u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/stateofhealth/2014/01/14/covered-california-a-personal-obamacare-review/\" target=\"_blank\">story on this blog\u003c/a> that COBRA participation created a glitch for people trying to qualify for subsidies.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>I asked Bond if she had put anywhere on her application that she had insurance via COBRA. Yes, she had. \"There was a drop-down list,\" Bond told me, \"and I had to choose COBRA. There was no other choice that would have been appropriate.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>I asked Bond if she had indicated an end date for her COBRA coverage. She said there was no option for her to do so.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Here's a screen grab from the \"apply\" section of the application:\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_17370\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 640px\">\u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/stateofhealth/wp-content/uploads/sites/27/2014/01/Screen-Shot-2014-01-29-at-9.17.28-AM.png\">\u003cimg class=\"size-large wp-image-17370\" title=\"\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/stateofhealth/wp-content/uploads/sites/27/2014/01/Screen-Shot-2014-01-29-at-9.17.28-AM-640x176.png\" alt=\"Screenshot from Covered California online application. \" width=\"640\" height=\"176\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Screenshot from Covered California online application.\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Here's the problem: People cannot be insured via COBRA and also get a Covered California plan with a subsidy. But that was not what Bond wanted to do. While she had not formally canceled her COBRA insurance, she knew it would cancel automatically when she did not pay her premium. Her intention was not to pay her January premium, which would have retroactively canceled her insurance back to midnight Dec. 31, 2013. Her new Covered California plan had taken effect on Jan. 1.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>When Bond contacted me -- on Jan. 11 -- she had already paid her new Covered California premium in full, nearly $550. The amount of the premium has been hard on her financially. She had been so relieved when she thought she qualified for a subsidy. \"It's really disappointing for me to find out that I'm not actually getting (the subsidy) and then having to come up with the money to pay that premium … it's killing me.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>I suggested that Bond call her COBRA provider and formally cancel her coverage -- and then call Covered California to update her account to qualify for the premium. (As it turns out, it seems you cannot make this change online. Weeks ago, I created a Covered California account. I logged in so I could look at the screen in question. But this part of the application is no longer available for edits once you have finished creating your account. Consumers will need to call Covered California.)\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Anne Gonzales, a spokeswoman for Covered California, confirmed the enrollment issue for people who have COBRA. She pointed out the challenges of blending one complex federal program -- COBRA -- with another, the Affordable Care Act. \"It's difficult to build a system to envision all specific scenarios,\" Gonzales wrote in an email. \"Consumers who have access to COBRA or are covered by COBRA would be wise to get help with enrollment, either in-person or through our Service Center, especially if they feel that they are missing out on qualifying for subsidies.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Gonzales also said that Covered California is \"learning from the startup of our enrollment system, and listening to consumer feedback about what would help them through the process.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Meanwhile, Bond canceled her COBRA policy and then called Covered California. Her subsidy is now applied to her plan and she will pay $256.45 per month. The tax credit saves her $288 monthly.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"This is AMAZING,\" Bond emailed me (capitalization hers). \"I am so relieved. That extra money will really help my family and I don't have to worry about being canceled.\" She's glad to be able to get the transfusions she needs.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But as a final note, she says the Covered California representative she spoke to at the call center says \"that on my enrollment application I should have checked NO to qualifying for health insurance, even COBRA. That doesn't make sense to me, but I am not questioning it at this juncture.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>And Payment Problems, Too\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>My colleague Sarah Baughn enrolled in a Kaiser plan through Covered California. She had a heckuva time trying to pay her January premium. Turns out February is pretty tough, too. When she logged into her account to pay online, she got this error message:\u003cbr>\n\u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/stateofhealth/wp-content/uploads/sites/27/2014/01/2014-01-22_kaiser_payment-copy-e1390950533854.png\">\u003cimg class=\"aligncenter size-large wp-image-17361\" title=\"\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/stateofhealth/wp-content/uploads/sites/27/2014/01/2014-01-22_kaiser_payment-copy-640x363.png\" alt=\"2014-01-22_kaiser_payment copy\" width=\"640\" height=\"363\">\u003c/a>She continued to get that error message every day last week. The automatic phone system did not work. They had also not received a paper invoice.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>On Monday, her husband spent 4.5 hours (that's no typo) on hold before he was finally able to pay the February premium over the phone with a live human being.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Do you have a strange glitch you're experiencing? Leave it in the comments below.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
"attributes": {
"named": {},
"numeric": []
}
},
{
"type": "component",
"content": "",
"name": "ad",
"attributes": {
"named": {
"label": "floatright"
},
"numeric": [
"floatright"
]
}
},
{
"type": "contentString",
"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>\u003cstrong>This post has been updated to clarify Anne Gonzales' statements about the intersection of COBRA and the ACA.\u003c/strong>\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
"attributes": {
"named": {},
"numeric": []
}
}
],
"link": "/stateofhealth/17355/covered-california-the-cobra-glitch",
"authors": [
"240"
],
"categories": [
"stateofhealth_15"
],
"tags": [
"stateofhealth_368"
],
"featImg": "stateofhealth_15508",
"label": "stateofhealth"
},
"stateofhealth_17339": {
"type": "posts",
"id": "stateofhealth_17339",
"meta": {
"index": "posts_1716263798",
"site": "stateofhealth",
"id": "17339",
"score": null,
"sort": [
1390846550000
]
},
"parent": 0,
"labelTerm": {
"site": "stateofhealth"
},
"blocks": [],
"publishDate": 1390846550,
"format": "aside",
"disqusTitle": "People With Canceled Health Insurance Policies Shifted to New Ones Without Permission",
"title": "People With Canceled Health Insurance Policies Shifted to New Ones Without Permission",
"headTitle": "State of Health | KQED News",
"content": "\u003cdiv>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_17341\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 640px\">\u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/stateofhealth/wp-content/uploads/sites/27/2014/01/96525183-e1390846077644.jpg\">\u003cimg class=\"size-large wp-image-17341\" title=\"\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/stateofhealth/wp-content/uploads/sites/27/2014/01/96525183-640x426.jpg\" alt=\"The Anthem Blue Cross headquarters in Woodland Hills. Kevin Kingma says the insurer rolled him into a new plan and deducted money from his bank account without his approval, a problem hundreds of consumers say they're having. (David McNew/Getty Images)\" width=\"640\" height=\"426\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The Anthem Blue Cross headquarters in Woodland Hills. Kevin Kingma says the insurer rolled him into a new plan and deducted money from his bank account without his approval, a problem hundreds of consumers say they're having. (David McNew/Getty Images) \u003ccite>(David McNew/Getty Images)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>By Charlie Ornstein\u003c/strong>, \u003ca href=\"http://www.propublica.org/article/consumers-with-canceled-insurance-plans-shifted-to-new-ones-without-their-p\" target=\"_blank\">ProPublica\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>When Kevin Kingma received a letter last fall notifying him that his high-deductible health plan was being canceled because of the Affordable Care Act, he visited Covered California, the state's health insurance marketplace and chose another plan beginning Jan. 1.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Thanks to a subsidy, Kingma’s monthly premium went down, from about $300 to $175, and his benefits improved.\u003c/p>\n\u003c/div>\n\u003cdiv>\n\u003cp>But this month, Kingma, of the Bay Area city of El Cerrito, logged into his bank’s website and saw that his old insurer, Anthem Blue Cross, had deducted $587.40 from his account and had enrolled him in another of its insurance products for this year -- he says without permission.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Hundreds of other consumers are caught in the same predicament, insurers acknowledge. And the California Department of Insurance said it is exploring whether any laws were broken when insurance companies withdrew money from consumers’ accounts for plans they didn’t select.\u003c!--more-->\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Here’s what happened to Kingma and others: When they received letters last fall, they were informed that their plans had been canceled. But within the letter, it also said that if they did nothing, they would be switched over to a different plan and if they had set up their payment to autodraft from their account, it would continue to do so.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Kingma said he didn’t read the whole letter, just enough of it to know his old plan was being canceled.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Once he noticed the withdrawals from his account this month, Kingma said he tried calling Anthem’s customer service hotline but couldn’t reach anyone because of “high call volume.” Dozens of consumers have reported long phone waits trying to reach Anthem.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Kingma then repeatedly faxed and contacted the insurer through its website. An Anthem representative first told him that he may only receive reimbursement for about half of January, until the date he actually canceled the new policy. Since then, it appears the insurer canceled his policy at the end of 2013. But as of Friday afternoon, it hadn’t refunded Kingma’s money, he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I and a number of other former Anthem policy holders are stuck in Anthem's Kafkaesque nightmare as part of healthcare reform,” Kingma, 57, wrote to me in an email.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Darrel Ng, a spokesman for Anthem Blue Cross, said in an email that insurers across California had moved members from canceled plans to new ones that comply with the law “and that transition retained their payment preference.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“In cases where members neglected to inform insurers that they had selected a new plan or informed insurers too late that they had selected a new plan, members are receiving a full refund for any amount paid.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Kaiser Permanente spokesman Chris Stenrud confirmed that his insurer has also found cases similar to Kingma’s.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Unfortunately, about 500 of our existing members in California who had automatic payment set up for their current plans were inadvertently charged before our systems recognized their enrollment in new plans through Covered California,” he wrote in an email. “We have identified the affected members and are in the process of contacting them to make them aware of the mistake, and of course, our commitment to refund the extra charge.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We take this seriously, and want to assure our members that we will make them whole,” he wrote.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>These actions may not fully satisfy the California Department of Insurance. Janice Rocco, deputy commissioner for health policy and reform, wrote in an email that insurers have cooperated with her agency and refunded premiums when questions arose, so “we hadn’t been focused on what the potential legal violations might be.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>She said insurers may have violated the law in two ways by deducting funds from customers’ bank accounts electronically. “Moving a policyholder from one product to another would be considered a ‘material change’ that would trigger a requirement in law to provide information about how to cancel the electronic funds transfer agreement. We did not see any notice of how to cancel an electronic transfer of funds in the policy cancellation notices, so there may be some violations of law in this regard.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Beyond that, Rocco said, some of the new products used by two health insurers were technically “sold by one of the insurer’s affiliated companies with which that policyholder had no prior electronic funds transfer agreement, so that might be another area of potential legal violations,” she wrote.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It isn’t known whether similar complaints have been lodged outside of California. But insurers in a number of states sent consumers letters saying they would be moved to new plans unless they said otherwise. (\u003ca href=\"https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/809774-florida-blue-letter.html\">This letter\u003c/a> was posted online by Politifact.) The \u003ca href=\"http://news.yahoo.com/policy-notifications-current-status-state-204701399.html\">Associated Press reported\u003c/a> last month that at least 4.7 million people were told their old health plans were going away because they didn’t meet the coverage standards of the Affordable Care Act.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Kingma said the whole situation has left him frustrated.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“No business conducts fair business that way,” he said. “In December, they should be telling customers, this is the plan you will be converted into, this is the cost.”\u003c/p>\n\u003c/div>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n",
"disqusIdentifier": "17339 http://blogs.kqed.org/stateofhealth/?p=17339",
"disqusUrl": "https://ww2.kqed.org/stateofhealth/2014/01/27/people-with-canceled-health-insurance-policies-shifted-to-new-ones-without-permission/",
"stats": {
"hasVideo": false,
"hasChartOrMap": false,
"hasAudio": false,
"hasPolis": false,
"wordCount": 946,
"hasGoogleForm": false,
"hasGallery": false,
"hasHearkenModule": false,
"iframeSrcs": [],
"paragraphCount": 23
},
"modified": 1390952269,
"excerpt": "But this month, Kingma logged into his bank’s website and saw that his old insurer, Anthem Blue Cross, had deducted $587.40 from his account and had enrolled him in another of its insurance products for this year -- he says without permission.\r\n\r\nHundreds of other consumers are caught in the same predicament, insurers acknowledge. And the California Department of Insurance said it is exploring whether any laws were broken when insurance companies withdrew money from consumers’ accounts for plans they didn’t select.",
"headData": {
"twImgId": "",
"twTitle": "",
"ogTitle": "",
"ogImgId": "",
"twDescription": "",
"description": "But this month, Kingma logged into his bank’s website and saw that his old insurer, Anthem Blue Cross, had deducted $587.40 from his account and had enrolled him in another of its insurance products for this year -- he says without permission.\r\n\r\nHundreds of other consumers are caught in the same predicament, insurers acknowledge. And the California Department of Insurance said it is exploring whether any laws were broken when insurance companies withdrew money from consumers’ accounts for plans they didn’t select.",
"title": "People With Canceled Health Insurance Policies Shifted to New Ones Without Permission | KQED",
"ogDescription": "",
"schema": {
"@context": "https://schema.org",
"@type": "Article",
"headline": "People With Canceled Health Insurance Policies Shifted to New Ones Without Permission",
"datePublished": "2014-01-27T10:15:50-08:00",
"dateModified": "2014-01-28T15:37:49-08:00",
"image": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/KQED-OG-Image@1x.png"
}
},
"guestAuthors": [],
"slug": "people-with-canceled-health-insurance-policies-shifted-to-new-ones-without-permission",
"status": "publish",
"path": "/stateofhealth/17339/people-with-canceled-health-insurance-policies-shifted-to-new-ones-without-permission",
"audioTrackLength": null,
"parsedContent": [
{
"type": "contentString",
"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cdiv>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_17341\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 640px\">\u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/stateofhealth/wp-content/uploads/sites/27/2014/01/96525183-e1390846077644.jpg\">\u003cimg class=\"size-large wp-image-17341\" title=\"\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/stateofhealth/wp-content/uploads/sites/27/2014/01/96525183-640x426.jpg\" alt=\"The Anthem Blue Cross headquarters in Woodland Hills. Kevin Kingma says the insurer rolled him into a new plan and deducted money from his bank account without his approval, a problem hundreds of consumers say they're having. (David McNew/Getty Images)\" width=\"640\" height=\"426\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The Anthem Blue Cross headquarters in Woodland Hills. Kevin Kingma says the insurer rolled him into a new plan and deducted money from his bank account without his approval, a problem hundreds of consumers say they're having. (David McNew/Getty Images) \u003ccite>(David McNew/Getty Images)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>By Charlie Ornstein\u003c/strong>, \u003ca href=\"http://www.propublica.org/article/consumers-with-canceled-insurance-plans-shifted-to-new-ones-without-their-p\" target=\"_blank\">ProPublica\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>When Kevin Kingma received a letter last fall notifying him that his high-deductible health plan was being canceled because of the Affordable Care Act, he visited Covered California, the state's health insurance marketplace and chose another plan beginning Jan. 1.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Thanks to a subsidy, Kingma’s monthly premium went down, from about $300 to $175, and his benefits improved.\u003c/p>\n\u003c/div>\n\u003cdiv>\n\u003cp>But this month, Kingma, of the Bay Area city of El Cerrito, logged into his bank’s website and saw that his old insurer, Anthem Blue Cross, had deducted $587.40 from his account and had enrolled him in another of its insurance products for this year -- he says without permission.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Hundreds of other consumers are caught in the same predicament, insurers acknowledge. And the California Department of Insurance said it is exploring whether any laws were broken when insurance companies withdrew money from consumers’ accounts for plans they didn’t select.\u003c!--more-->\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Here’s what happened to Kingma and others: When they received letters last fall, they were informed that their plans had been canceled. But within the letter, it also said that if they did nothing, they would be switched over to a different plan and if they had set up their payment to autodraft from their account, it would continue to do so.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Kingma said he didn’t read the whole letter, just enough of it to know his old plan was being canceled.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Once he noticed the withdrawals from his account this month, Kingma said he tried calling Anthem’s customer service hotline but couldn’t reach anyone because of “high call volume.” Dozens of consumers have reported long phone waits trying to reach Anthem.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Kingma then repeatedly faxed and contacted the insurer through its website. An Anthem representative first told him that he may only receive reimbursement for about half of January, until the date he actually canceled the new policy. Since then, it appears the insurer canceled his policy at the end of 2013. But as of Friday afternoon, it hadn’t refunded Kingma’s money, he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I and a number of other former Anthem policy holders are stuck in Anthem's Kafkaesque nightmare as part of healthcare reform,” Kingma, 57, wrote to me in an email.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Darrel Ng, a spokesman for Anthem Blue Cross, said in an email that insurers across California had moved members from canceled plans to new ones that comply with the law “and that transition retained their payment preference.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“In cases where members neglected to inform insurers that they had selected a new plan or informed insurers too late that they had selected a new plan, members are receiving a full refund for any amount paid.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Kaiser Permanente spokesman Chris Stenrud confirmed that his insurer has also found cases similar to Kingma’s.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Unfortunately, about 500 of our existing members in California who had automatic payment set up for their current plans were inadvertently charged before our systems recognized their enrollment in new plans through Covered California,” he wrote in an email. “We have identified the affected members and are in the process of contacting them to make them aware of the mistake, and of course, our commitment to refund the extra charge.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We take this seriously, and want to assure our members that we will make them whole,” he wrote.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>These actions may not fully satisfy the California Department of Insurance. Janice Rocco, deputy commissioner for health policy and reform, wrote in an email that insurers have cooperated with her agency and refunded premiums when questions arose, so “we hadn’t been focused on what the potential legal violations might be.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>She said insurers may have violated the law in two ways by deducting funds from customers’ bank accounts electronically. “Moving a policyholder from one product to another would be considered a ‘material change’ that would trigger a requirement in law to provide information about how to cancel the electronic funds transfer agreement. We did not see any notice of how to cancel an electronic transfer of funds in the policy cancellation notices, so there may be some violations of law in this regard.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Beyond that, Rocco said, some of the new products used by two health insurers were technically “sold by one of the insurer’s affiliated companies with which that policyholder had no prior electronic funds transfer agreement, so that might be another area of potential legal violations,” she wrote.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It isn’t known whether similar complaints have been lodged outside of California. But insurers in a number of states sent consumers letters saying they would be moved to new plans unless they said otherwise. (\u003ca href=\"https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/809774-florida-blue-letter.html\">This letter\u003c/a> was posted online by Politifact.) The \u003ca href=\"http://news.yahoo.com/policy-notifications-current-status-state-204701399.html\">Associated Press reported\u003c/a> last month that at least 4.7 million people were told their old health plans were going away because they didn’t meet the coverage standards of the Affordable Care Act.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Kingma said the whole situation has left him frustrated.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“No business conducts fair business that way,” he said. “In December, they should be telling customers, this is the plan you will be converted into, this is the cost.”\u003c/p>\n\u003c/div>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
"attributes": {
"named": {},
"numeric": []
}
},
{
"type": "component",
"content": "",
"name": "ad",
"attributes": {
"named": {
"label": "fullwidth"
},
"numeric": [
"fullwidth"
]
}
},
{
"type": "contentString",
"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
"attributes": {
"named": {},
"numeric": []
}
}
],
"link": "/stateofhealth/17339/people-with-canceled-health-insurance-policies-shifted-to-new-ones-without-permission",
"authors": [
"8344"
],
"categories": [
"stateofhealth_15"
],
"tags": [
"stateofhealth_116",
"stateofhealth_659"
],
"featImg": "stateofhealth_17341",
"label": "stateofhealth"
}
},
"podcastsReducer": {
"isFetching": false,
"fetchFailed": false,
"hasFetched": false,
"podcasts": {}
},
"radioProgramsReducer": {
"isFetching": false,
"fetchFailed": false,
"hasFetched": false,
"radioPrograms": {}
},
"radioSearchSegmentsReducer": {},
"programsReducer": {
"all-things-considered": {
"id": "all-things-considered",
"title": "All Things Considered",
"info": "Every weekday, \u003cem>All Things Considered\u003c/em> hosts Robert Siegel, Audie Cornish, Ari Shapiro, and Kelly McEvers present the program's trademark mix of news, interviews, commentaries, reviews, and offbeat features. Michel Martin hosts on the weekends.",
"airtime": "MON-FRI 1pm-2pm, 4:30pm-6:30pm\u003cbr />SAT-SUN 5pm-6pm",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/All-Things-Considered-Podcast-Tile-360x360-1.jpg",
"officialWebsiteLink": "https://www.npr.org/programs/all-things-considered/",
"meta": {
"site": "news",
"source": "npr"
},
"link": "/radio/program/all-things-considered"
},
"american-suburb-podcast": {
"id": "american-suburb-podcast",
"title": "American Suburb: The Podcast",
"tagline": "The flip side of gentrification, told through one town",
"info": "Gentrification is changing cities across America, forcing people from neighborhoods they have long called home. Call them the displaced. Now those priced out of the Bay Area are looking for a better life in an unlikely place. American Suburb follows this migration to one California town along the Delta, 45 miles from San Francisco. But is this once sleepy suburb ready for them?",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/American-Suburb-Podcast-Tile-703x703-1.jpg",
"officialWebsiteLink": "/news/series/american-suburb-podcast",
"meta": {
"site": "news",
"source": "kqed",
"order": 19
},
"link": "/news/series/american-suburb-podcast/",
"subscribe": {
"npr": "https://rpb3r.app.goo.gl/RBrW",
"apple": "https://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewPodcast?mt=2&id=1287748328",
"tuneIn": "https://tunein.com/radio/American-Suburb-p1086805/",
"rss": "https://ww2.kqed.org/news/series/american-suburb-podcast/feed/podcast",
"google": "https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9mZWVkcy5tZWdhcGhvbmUuZm0vS1FJTkMzMDExODgxNjA5"
}
},
"baycurious": {
"id": "baycurious",
"title": "Bay Curious",
"tagline": "Exploring the Bay Area, one question at a time",
"info": "KQED’s new podcast, Bay Curious, gets to the bottom of the mysteries — both profound and peculiar — that give the Bay Area its unique identity. And we’ll do it with your help! You ask the questions. You decide what Bay Curious investigates. And you join us on the journey to find the answers.",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Bay-Curious-Podcast-Tile-703x703-1.jpg",
"imageAlt": "KQED Bay Curious",
"officialWebsiteLink": "/news/series/baycurious",
"meta": {
"site": "news",
"source": "kqed",
"order": 3
},
"link": "/podcasts/baycurious",
"subscribe": {
"apple": "https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/bay-curious/id1172473406",
"npr": "https://www.npr.org/podcasts/500557090/bay-curious",
"rss": "https://ww2.kqed.org/news/category/bay-curious-podcast/feed/podcast",
"amazon": "https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/9a90d476-aa04-455d-9a4c-0871ed6216d4/bay-curious",
"stitcher": "https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/kqed/bay-curious",
"spotify": "https://open.spotify.com/show/6O76IdmhixfijmhTZLIJ8k"
}
},
"bbc-world-service": {
"id": "bbc-world-service",
"title": "BBC World Service",
"info": "The day's top stories from BBC News compiled twice daily in the week, once at weekends.",
"airtime": "MON-FRI 9pm-10pm, TUE-FRI 1am-2am",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/BBC-World-Service-Podcast-Tile-360x360-1.jpg",
"officialWebsiteLink": "https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/live:bbc_world_service",
"meta": {
"site": "news",
"source": "BBC World Service"
},
"link": "/radio/program/bbc-world-service",
"subscribe": {
"apple": "https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/global-news-podcast/id135067274?mt=2",
"tuneIn": "https://tunein.com/radio/BBC-World-Service-p455581/",
"rss": "https://podcasts.files.bbci.co.uk/p02nq0gn.rss"
}
},
"californiareport": {
"id": "californiareport",
"title": "The California Report",
"tagline": "California, day by day",
"info": "KQED’s statewide radio news program providing daily coverage of issues, trends and public policy decisions.",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/The-California-Report-Podcast-Tile-703x703-1.jpg",
"imageAlt": "KQED The California Report",
"officialWebsiteLink": "/californiareport",
"meta": {
"site": "news",
"source": "kqed",
"order": 8
},
"link": "/californiareport",
"subscribe": {
"apple": "https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/kqeds-the-california-report/id79681292",
"amazon": "https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/26099305-72af-4542-9dde-ac1807fe36d5/kqed-s-the-california-report",
"npr": "https://www.npr.org/podcasts/432285393/the-california-report",
"stitcher": "https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/kqedfm-kqeds-the-california-report-podcast-8838",
"rss": "https://ww2.kqed.org/news/tag/tcram/feed/podcast"
}
},
"californiareportmagazine": {
"id": "californiareportmagazine",
"title": "The California Report Magazine",
"tagline": "Your state, your stories",
"info": "Every week, The California Report Magazine takes you on a road trip for the ears: to visit the places and meet the people who make California unique. The in-depth storytelling podcast from the California Report.",
"airtime": "FRI 4:30pm-5pm, 6:30pm-7pm, 11pm-11:30pm",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/The-California-Report-Magazine-Podcast-Tile-703x703-1.jpg",
"imageAlt": "KQED The California Report Magazine",
"officialWebsiteLink": "/californiareportmagazine",
"meta": {
"site": "news",
"source": "kqed",
"order": 10
},
"link": "/californiareportmagazine",
"subscribe": {
"apple": "https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-california-report-magazine/id1314750545",
"google": "https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9mZWVkcy5tZWdhcGhvbmUuZm0vS1FJTkM3NjkwNjk1OTAz",
"npr": "https://www.npr.org/podcasts/564733126/the-california-report-magazine",
"stitcher": "https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/kqed/the-california-report-magazine",
"rss": "https://ww2.kqed.org/news/tag/tcrmag/feed/podcast"
}
},
"city-arts": {
"id": "city-arts",
"title": "City Arts & Lectures",
"info": "A one-hour radio program to hear celebrated writers, artists and thinkers address contemporary ideas and values, often discussing the creative process. Please note: tapes or transcripts are not available",
"imageSrc": "https://ww2.kqed.org/radio/wp-content/uploads/sites/50/2018/05/cityartsandlecture-300x300.jpg",
"officialWebsiteLink": "https://www.cityarts.net/",
"airtime": "SUN 1pm-2pm, TUE 10pm, WED 1am",
"meta": {
"site": "news",
"source": "City Arts & Lectures"
},
"link": "https://www.cityarts.net",
"subscribe": {
"tuneIn": "https://tunein.com/radio/City-Arts-and-Lectures-p692/",
"rss": "https://www.cityarts.net/feed/"
}
},
"closealltabs": {
"id": "closealltabs",
"title": "Close All Tabs",
"tagline": "Your irreverent guide to the trends redefining our world",
"info": "Close All Tabs breaks down how digital culture shapes our world through thoughtful insights and irreverent humor.",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/CAT_2_Tile-scaled.jpg",
"imageAlt": "KQED Close All Tabs",
"officialWebsiteLink": "/podcasts/closealltabs",
"meta": {
"site": "news",
"source": "kqed",
"order": 1
},
"link": "/podcasts/closealltabs",
"subscribe": {
"apple": "https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/close-all-tabs/id214663465",
"rss": "https://feeds.megaphone.fm/KQINC6993880386",
"amazon": "https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/92d9d4ac-67a3-4eed-b10a-fb45d45b1ef2/close-all-tabs",
"spotify": "https://open.spotify.com/show/6LAJFHnGK1pYXYzv6SIol6?si=deb0cae19813417c"
}
},
"code-switch-life-kit": {
"id": "code-switch-life-kit",
"title": "Code Switch / Life Kit",
"info": "\u003cem>Code Switch\u003c/em>, which listeners will hear in the first part of the hour, has fearless and much-needed conversations about race. Hosted by journalists of color, the show tackles the subject of race head-on, exploring how it impacts every part of society — from politics and pop culture to history, sports and more.\u003cbr />\u003cbr />\u003cem>Life Kit\u003c/em>, which will be in the second part of the hour, guides you through spaces and feelings no one prepares you for — from finances to mental health, from workplace microaggressions to imposter syndrome, from relationships to parenting. The show features experts with real world experience and shares their knowledge. Because everyone needs a little help being human.\u003cbr />\u003cbr />\u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/podcasts/510312/codeswitch\">\u003cem>Code Switch\u003c/em> offical site and podcast\u003c/a>\u003cbr />\u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/lifekit\">\u003cem>Life Kit\u003c/em> offical site and podcast\u003c/a>\u003cbr />",
"airtime": "SUN 9pm-10pm",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Code-Switch-Life-Kit-Podcast-Tile-360x360-1.jpg",
"meta": {
"site": "radio",
"source": "npr"
},
"link": "/radio/program/code-switch-life-kit",
"subscribe": {
"apple": "https://podcasts.apple.com/podcast/1112190608?mt=2&at=11l79Y&ct=nprdirectory",
"google": "https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cubnByLm9yZy9yc3MvcG9kY2FzdC5waHA_aWQ9NTEwMzEy",
"spotify": "https://open.spotify.com/show/3bExJ9JQpkwNhoHvaIIuyV",
"rss": "https://feeds.npr.org/510312/podcast.xml"
}
},
"commonwealth-club": {
"id": "commonwealth-club",
"title": "Commonwealth Club of California Podcast",
"info": "The Commonwealth Club of California is the nation's oldest and largest public affairs forum. As a non-partisan forum, The Club brings to the public airwaves diverse viewpoints on important topics. The Club's weekly radio broadcast - the oldest in the U.S., dating back to 1924 - is carried across the nation on public radio stations and is now podcasting. Our website archive features audio of our recent programs, as well as selected speeches from our long and distinguished history. This podcast feed is usually updated twice a week and is always un-edited.",
"airtime": "THU 10pm, FRI 1am",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Commonwealth-Club-Podcast-Tile-360x360-1.jpg",
"officialWebsiteLink": "https://www.commonwealthclub.org/podcasts",
"meta": {
"site": "news",
"source": "Commonwealth Club of California"
},
"link": "/radio/program/commonwealth-club",
"subscribe": {
"apple": "https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/commonwealth-club-of-california-podcast/id976334034?mt=2",
"google": "https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cDovL3d3dy5jb21tb253ZWFsdGhjbHViLm9yZy9hdWRpby9wb2RjYXN0L3dlZWtseS54bWw",
"tuneIn": "https://tunein.com/radio/Commonwealth-Club-of-California-p1060/"
}
},
"forum": {
"id": "forum",
"title": "Forum",
"tagline": "The conversation starts here",
"info": "KQED’s live call-in program discussing local, state, national and international issues, as well as in-depth interviews.",
"airtime": "MON-FRI 9am-11am, 10pm-11pm",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Forum-Podcast-Tile-703x703-1.jpg",
"imageAlt": "KQED Forum with Mina Kim and Alexis Madrigal",
"officialWebsiteLink": "/forum",
"meta": {
"site": "news",
"source": "kqed",
"order": 9
},
"link": "/forum",
"subscribe": {
"apple": "https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/kqeds-forum/id73329719",
"google": "https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9mZWVkcy5tZWdhcGhvbmUuZm0vS1FJTkM5NTU3MzgxNjMz",
"npr": "https://www.npr.org/podcasts/432307980/forum",
"stitcher": "https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/kqedfm-kqeds-forum-podcast",
"rss": "https://feeds.megaphone.fm/KQINC9557381633"
}
},
"freakonomics-radio": {
"id": "freakonomics-radio",
"title": "Freakonomics Radio",
"info": "Freakonomics Radio is a one-hour award-winning podcast and public-radio project hosted by Stephen Dubner, with co-author Steve Levitt as a regular guest. It is produced in partnership with WNYC.",
"imageSrc": "https://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2018/05/freakonomicsRadio.png",
"officialWebsiteLink": "http://freakonomics.com/",
"airtime": "SUN 1am-2am, SAT 3pm-4pm",
"meta": {
"site": "radio",
"source": "WNYC"
},
"link": "/radio/program/freakonomics-radio",
"subscribe": {
"npr": "https://rpb3r.app.goo.gl/4s8b",
"apple": "https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/freakonomics-radio/id354668519",
"tuneIn": "https://tunein.com/podcasts/WNYC-Podcasts/Freakonomics-Radio-p272293/",
"rss": "https://feeds.feedburner.com/freakonomicsradio"
}
},
"fresh-air": {
"id": "fresh-air",
"title": "Fresh Air",
"info": "Hosted by Terry Gross, \u003cem>Fresh Air from WHYY\u003c/em> is the Peabody Award-winning weekday magazine of contemporary arts and issues. One of public radio's most popular programs, Fresh Air features intimate conversations with today's biggest luminaries.",
"airtime": "MON-FRI 7pm-8pm",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Fresh-Air-Podcast-Tile-360x360-1.jpg",
"officialWebsiteLink": "https://www.npr.org/programs/fresh-air/",
"meta": {
"site": "radio",
"source": "npr"
},
"link": "/radio/program/fresh-air",
"subscribe": {
"npr": "https://rpb3r.app.goo.gl/4s8b",
"apple": "https://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewPodcast?s=143441&mt=2&id=214089682&at=11l79Y&ct=nprdirectory",
"tuneIn": "https://tunein.com/radio/Fresh-Air-p17/",
"rss": "https://feeds.npr.org/381444908/podcast.xml"
}
},
"here-and-now": {
"id": "here-and-now",
"title": "Here & Now",
"info": "A live production of NPR and WBUR Boston, in collaboration with stations across the country, Here & Now reflects the fluid world of news as it's happening in the middle of the day, with timely, in-depth news, interviews and conversation. Hosted by Robin Young, Jeremy Hobson and Tonya Mosley.",
"airtime": "MON-THU 11am-12pm",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Here-And-Now-Podcast-Tile-360x360-1.jpg",
"officialWebsiteLink": "http://www.wbur.org/hereandnow",
"meta": {
"site": "news",
"source": "npr"
},
"link": "/radio/program/here-and-now",
"subsdcribe": {
"apple": "https://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewPodcast?mt=2&id=426698661",
"tuneIn": "https://tunein.com/radio/Here--Now-p211/",
"rss": "https://feeds.npr.org/510051/podcast.xml"
}
},
"hidden-brain": {
"id": "hidden-brain",
"title": "Hidden Brain",
"info": "Shankar Vedantam uses science and storytelling to reveal the unconscious patterns that drive human behavior, shape our choices and direct our relationships.",
"imageSrc": "https://ww2.kqed.org/radio/wp-content/uploads/sites/50/2018/05/hiddenbrain.jpg",
"officialWebsiteLink": "https://www.npr.org/series/423302056/hidden-brain",
"airtime": "SUN 7pm-8pm",
"meta": {
"site": "news",
"source": "NPR"
},
"link": "/radio/program/hidden-brain",
"subscribe": {
"apple": "https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/hidden-brain/id1028908750?mt=2",
"tuneIn": "https://tunein.com/podcasts/Science-Podcasts/Hidden-Brain-p787503/",
"rss": "https://feeds.npr.org/510308/podcast.xml"
}
},
"how-i-built-this": {
"id": "how-i-built-this",
"title": "How I Built This with Guy Raz",
"info": "Guy Raz dives into the stories behind some of the world's best known companies. How I Built This weaves a narrative journey about innovators, entrepreneurs and idealists—and the movements they built.",
"imageSrc": "https://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2018/05/howIBuiltThis.png",
"officialWebsiteLink": "https://www.npr.org/podcasts/510313/how-i-built-this",
"airtime": "SUN 7:30pm-8pm",
"meta": {
"site": "news",
"source": "npr"
},
"link": "/radio/program/how-i-built-this",
"subscribe": {
"npr": "https://rpb3r.app.goo.gl/3zxy",
"apple": "https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/how-i-built-this-with-guy-raz/id1150510297?mt=2",
"tuneIn": "https://tunein.com/podcasts/Arts--Culture-Podcasts/How-I-Built-This-p910896/",
"rss": "https://feeds.npr.org/510313/podcast.xml"
}
},
"hyphenacion": {
"id": "hyphenacion",
"title": "Hyphenación",
"tagline": "Where conversation and cultura meet",
"info": "What kind of no sabo word is Hyphenación? For us, it’s about living within a hyphenation. Like being a third-gen Mexican-American from the Texas border now living that Bay Area Chicano life. Like Xorje! Each week we bring together a couple of hyphenated Latinos to talk all about personal life choices: family, careers, relationships, belonging … everything is on the table. ",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/Hyphenacion_FinalAssets_PodcastTile.png",
"imageAlt": "KQED Hyphenación",
"officialWebsiteLink": "/podcasts/hyphenacion",
"meta": {
"site": "news",
"source": "kqed",
"order": 15
},
"link": "/podcasts/hyphenacion",
"subscribe": {
"apple": "https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/hyphenaci%C3%B3n/id1191591838",
"spotify": "https://open.spotify.com/show/2p3Fifq96nw9BPcmFdIq0o?si=39209f7b25774f38",
"youtube": "https://www.youtube.com/c/kqedarts",
"amazon": "https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/6c3dd23c-93fb-4aab-97ba-1725fa6315f1/hyphenaci%C3%B3n",
"rss": "https://feeds.megaphone.fm/KQINC2275451163"
}
},
"jerrybrown": {
"id": "jerrybrown",
"title": "The Political Mind of Jerry Brown",
"tagline": "Lessons from a lifetime in politics",
"info": "The Political Mind of Jerry Brown brings listeners the wisdom of the former Governor, Mayor, and presidential candidate. Scott Shafer interviewed Brown for more than 40 hours, covering the former governor's life and half-century in the political game – and Brown has some lessons he'd like to share. ",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/The-Political-Mind-of-Jerry-Brown-Podcast-Tile-703x703-1.jpg",
"imageAlt": "KQED The Political Mind of Jerry Brown",
"officialWebsiteLink": "/podcasts/jerrybrown",
"meta": {
"site": "news",
"source": "kqed",
"order": 18
},
"link": "/podcasts/jerrybrown",
"subscribe": {
"npr": "https://www.npr.org/podcasts/790253322/the-political-mind-of-jerry-brown",
"apple": "https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/id1492194549",
"rss": "https://ww2.kqed.org/news/series/jerrybrown/feed/podcast/",
"tuneIn": "http://tun.in/pjGcK",
"stitcher": "https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/kqed/the-political-mind-of-jerry-brown",
"spotify": "https://open.spotify.com/show/54C1dmuyFyKMFttY6X2j6r?si=K8SgRCoISNK6ZbjpXrX5-w",
"amazon": "https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/44420f75-3b0e-4301-ab3b-16da6b09e543/the-political-mind-of-jerry-brown"
}
},
"latino-usa": {
"id": "latino-usa",
"title": "Latino USA",
"airtime": "MON 1am-2am, SUN 6pm-7pm",
"info": "Latino USA, the radio journal of news and culture, is the only national, English-language radio program produced from a Latino perspective.",
"imageSrc": "https://ww2.kqed.org/radio/wp-content/uploads/sites/50/2018/04/latinoUsa.jpg",
"officialWebsiteLink": "http://latinousa.org/",
"meta": {
"site": "news",
"source": "npr"
},
"link": "/radio/program/latino-usa",
"subscribe": {
"npr": "https://rpb3r.app.goo.gl/xtTd",
"apple": "https://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewPodcast?s=143441&mt=2&id=79681317&at=11l79Y&ct=nprdirectory",
"tuneIn": "https://tunein.com/radio/Latino-USA-p621/",
"rss": "https://feeds.npr.org/510016/podcast.xml"
}
},
"marketplace": {
"id": "marketplace",
"title": "Marketplace",
"info": "Our flagship program, helmed by Kai Ryssdal, examines what the day in money delivered, through stories, conversations, newsworthy numbers and more. Updated Monday through Friday at about 3:30 p.m. PT.",
"airtime": "MON-FRI 4pm-4:30pm, MON-WED 6:30pm-7pm",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Marketplace-Podcast-Tile-360x360-1.jpg",
"officialWebsiteLink": "https://www.marketplace.org/",
"meta": {
"site": "news",
"source": "American Public Media"
},
"link": "/radio/program/marketplace",
"subscribe": {
"apple": "https://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewPodcast?s=143441&mt=2&id=201853034&at=11l79Y&ct=nprdirectory",
"tuneIn": "https://tunein.com/radio/APM-Marketplace-p88/",
"rss": "https://feeds.publicradio.org/public_feeds/marketplace-pm/rss/rss"
}
},
"masters-of-scale": {
"id": "masters-of-scale",
"title": "Masters of Scale",
"info": "Masters of Scale is an original podcast in which LinkedIn co-founder and Greylock Partner Reid Hoffman sets out to describe and prove theories that explain how great entrepreneurs take their companies from zero to a gazillion in ingenious fashion.",
"airtime": "Every other Wednesday June 12 through October 16 at 8pm (repeats Thursdays at 2am)",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Masters-of-Scale-Podcast-Tile-360x360-1.jpg",
"officialWebsiteLink": "https://mastersofscale.com/",
"meta": {
"site": "radio",
"source": "WaitWhat"
},
"link": "/radio/program/masters-of-scale",
"subscribe": {
"apple": "http://mastersofscale.app.link/",
"rss": "https://rss.art19.com/masters-of-scale"
}
},
"mindshift": {
"id": "mindshift",
"title": "MindShift",
"tagline": "A podcast about the future of learning and how we raise our kids",
"info": "The MindShift podcast explores the innovations in education that are shaping how kids learn. Hosts Ki Sung and Katrina Schwartz introduce listeners to educators, researchers, parents and students who are developing effective ways to improve how kids learn. We cover topics like how fed-up administrators are developing surprising tactics to deal with classroom disruptions; how listening to podcasts are helping kids develop reading skills; the consequences of overparenting; and why interdisciplinary learning can engage students on all ends of the traditional achievement spectrum. This podcast is part of the MindShift education site, a division of KQED News. KQED is an NPR/PBS member station based in San Francisco. You can also visit the MindShift website for episodes and supplemental blog posts or tweet us \u003ca href=\"https://twitter.com/MindShiftKQED\">@MindShiftKQED\u003c/a> or visit us at \u003ca href=\"/mindshift\">MindShift.KQED.org\u003c/a>",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Mindshift-Podcast-Tile-703x703-1.jpg",
"imageAlt": "KQED MindShift: How We Will Learn",
"officialWebsiteLink": "/mindshift/",
"meta": {
"site": "news",
"source": "kqed",
"order": 12
},
"link": "/podcasts/mindshift",
"subscribe": {
"apple": "https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/mindshift-podcast/id1078765985",
"google": "https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9mZWVkcy5tZWdhcGhvbmUuZm0vS1FJTkM1NzY0NjAwNDI5",
"npr": "https://www.npr.org/podcasts/464615685/mind-shift-podcast",
"stitcher": "https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/kqed/stories-teachers-share",
"spotify": "https://open.spotify.com/show/0MxSpNYZKNprFLCl7eEtyx"
}
},
"morning-edition": {
"id": "morning-edition",
"title": "Morning Edition",
"info": "\u003cem>Morning Edition\u003c/em> takes listeners around the country and the world with multi-faceted stories and commentaries every weekday. Hosts Steve Inskeep, David Greene and Rachel Martin bring you the latest breaking news and features to prepare you for the day.",
"airtime": "MON-FRI 3am-9am",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Morning-Edition-Podcast-Tile-360x360-1.jpg",
"officialWebsiteLink": "https://www.npr.org/programs/morning-edition/",
"meta": {
"site": "news",
"source": "npr"
},
"link": "/radio/program/morning-edition"
},
"onourwatch": {
"id": "onourwatch",
"title": "On Our Watch",
"tagline": "Deeply-reported investigative journalism",
"info": "For decades, the process for how police police themselves has been inconsistent – if not opaque. In some states, like California, these proceedings were completely hidden. After a new police transparency law unsealed scores of internal affairs files, our reporters set out to examine these cases and the shadow world of police discipline. On Our Watch brings listeners into the rooms where officers are questioned and witnesses are interrogated to find out who this system is really protecting. Is it the officers, or the public they've sworn to serve?",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/On-Our-Watch-Podcast-Tile-703x703-1.jpg",
"imageAlt": "On Our Watch from NPR and KQED",
"officialWebsiteLink": "/podcasts/onourwatch",
"meta": {
"site": "news",
"source": "kqed",
"order": 11
},
"link": "/podcasts/onourwatch",
"subscribe": {
"apple": "https://podcasts.apple.com/podcast/id1567098962",
"google": "https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9mZWVkcy5ucHIub3JnLzUxMDM2MC9wb2RjYXN0LnhtbD9zYz1nb29nbGVwb2RjYXN0cw",
"npr": "https://rpb3r.app.goo.gl/onourwatch",
"spotify": "https://open.spotify.com/show/0OLWoyizopu6tY1XiuX70x",
"tuneIn": "https://tunein.com/radio/On-Our-Watch-p1436229/",
"stitcher": "https://www.stitcher.com/show/on-our-watch",
"rss": "https://feeds.npr.org/510360/podcast.xml"
}
},
"on-the-media": {
"id": "on-the-media",
"title": "On The Media",
"info": "Our weekly podcast explores how the media 'sausage' is made, casts an incisive eye on fluctuations in the marketplace of ideas, and examines threats to the freedom of information and expression in America and abroad. For one hour a week, the show tries to lift the veil from the process of \"making media,\" especially news media, because it's through that lens that we see the world and the world sees us",
"airtime": "SUN 2pm-3pm, MON 12am-1am",
"imageSrc": "https://ww2.kqed.org/radio/wp-content/uploads/sites/50/2018/04/onTheMedia.png",
"officialWebsiteLink": "https://www.wnycstudios.org/shows/otm",
"meta": {
"site": "news",
"source": "wnyc"
},
"link": "/radio/program/on-the-media",
"subscribe": {
"apple": "https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/on-the-media/id73330715?mt=2",
"tuneIn": "https://tunein.com/radio/On-the-Media-p69/",
"rss": "http://feeds.wnyc.org/onthemedia"
}
},
"pbs-newshour": {
"id": "pbs-newshour",
"title": "PBS NewsHour",
"info": "Analysis, background reports and updates from the PBS NewsHour putting today's news in context.",
"airtime": "MON-FRI 3pm-4pm",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/PBS-News-Hour-Podcast-Tile-360x360-1.jpg",
"officialWebsiteLink": "https://www.pbs.org/newshour/",
"meta": {
"site": "news",
"source": "pbs"
},
"link": "/radio/program/pbs-newshour",
"subscribe": {
"apple": "https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/pbs-newshour-full-show/id394432287?mt=2",
"tuneIn": "https://tunein.com/radio/PBS-NewsHour---Full-Show-p425698/",
"rss": "https://www.pbs.org/newshour/feeds/rss/podcasts/show"
}
},
"perspectives": {
"id": "perspectives",
"title": "Perspectives",
"tagline": "KQED's series of daily listener commentaries since 1991",
"info": "KQED's series of daily listener commentaries since 1991.",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/Perspectives_Tile_Final.jpg",
"imageAlt": "KQED Perspectives",
"officialWebsiteLink": "/perspectives/",
"meta": {
"site": "radio",
"source": "kqed",
"order": 14
},
"link": "/perspectives",
"subscribe": {
"apple": "https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/id73801135",
"npr": "https://www.npr.org/podcasts/432309616/perspectives",
"rss": "https://ww2.kqed.org/perspectives/category/perspectives/feed/",
"google": "https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly93dzIua3FlZC5vcmcvcGVyc3BlY3RpdmVzL2NhdGVnb3J5L3BlcnNwZWN0aXZlcy9mZWVkLw"
}
},
"planet-money": {
"id": "planet-money",
"title": "Planet Money",
"info": "The economy explained. Imagine you could call up a friend and say, Meet me at the bar and tell me what's going on with the economy. Now imagine that's actually a fun evening.",
"airtime": "SUN 3pm-4pm",
"imageSrc": "https://ww2.kqed.org/radio/wp-content/uploads/sites/50/2018/04/planetmoney.jpg",
"officialWebsiteLink": "https://www.npr.org/sections/money/",
"meta": {
"site": "news",
"source": "npr"
},
"link": "/radio/program/planet-money",
"subscribe": {
"npr": "https://rpb3r.app.goo.gl/M4f5",
"apple": "https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/planet-money/id290783428?mt=2",
"tuneIn": "https://tunein.com/podcasts/Business--Economics-Podcasts/Planet-Money-p164680/",
"rss": "https://feeds.npr.org/510289/podcast.xml"
}
},
"politicalbreakdown": {
"id": "politicalbreakdown",
"title": "Political Breakdown",
"tagline": "Politics from a personal perspective",
"info": "Political Breakdown is a new series that explores the political intersection of California and the nation. Each week hosts Scott Shafer and Marisa Lagos are joined with a new special guest to unpack politics -- with personality — and offer an insider’s glimpse at how politics happens.",
"airtime": "THU 6:30pm-7pm",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Political-Breakdown-2024-Podcast-Tile-703x703-1.jpg",
"imageAlt": "KQED Political Breakdown",
"officialWebsiteLink": "/podcasts/politicalbreakdown",
"meta": {
"site": "radio",
"source": "kqed",
"order": 5
},
"link": "/podcasts/politicalbreakdown",
"subscribe": {
"apple": "https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/political-breakdown/id1327641087",
"amazon": "https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/e0c2d153-ad36-4c8d-901d-f1da6a724824/political-breakdown",
"npr": "https://www.npr.org/podcasts/572155894/political-breakdown",
"stitcher": "https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/kqed/political-breakdown",
"spotify": "https://open.spotify.com/show/07RVyIjIdk2WDuVehvBMoN",
"rss": "https://ww2.kqed.org/news/tag/political-breakdown/feed/podcast"
}
},
"possible": {
"id": "possible",
"title": "Possible",
"info": "Possible is hosted by entrepreneur Reid Hoffman and writer Aria Finger. Together in Possible, Hoffman and Finger lead enlightening discussions about building a brighter collective future. The show features interviews with visionary guests like Trevor Noah, Sam Altman and Janette Sadik-Khan. Possible paints an optimistic portrait of the world we can create through science, policy, business, art and our shared humanity. It asks: What if everything goes right for once? How can we get there? Each episode also includes a short fiction story generated by advanced AI GPT-4, serving as a thought-provoking springboard to speculate how humanity could leverage technology for good.",
"airtime": "SUN 2pm",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Possible-Podcast-Tile-360x360-1.jpg",
"officialWebsiteLink": "https://www.possible.fm/",
"meta": {
"site": "news",
"source": "Possible"
},
"link": "/radio/program/possible",
"subscribe": {
"apple": "https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/possible/id1677184070",
"spotify": "https://open.spotify.com/show/730YpdUSNlMyPQwNnyjp4k"
}
},
"pri-the-world": {
"id": "pri-the-world",
"title": "PRI's The World: Latest Edition",
"info": "Each weekday, host Marco Werman and his team of producers bring you the world's most interesting stories in an hour of radio that reminds us just how small our planet really is.",
"airtime": "MON-FRI 2pm-3pm",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/The-World-Podcast-Tile-360x360-1.jpg",
"officialWebsiteLink": "https://www.pri.org/programs/the-world",
"meta": {
"site": "news",
"source": "PRI"
},
"link": "/radio/program/pri-the-world",
"subscribe": {
"apple": "https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/pris-the-world-latest-edition/id278196007?mt=2",
"tuneIn": "https://tunein.com/podcasts/News--Politics-Podcasts/PRIs-The-World-p24/",
"rss": "http://feeds.feedburner.com/pri/theworld"
}
},
"radiolab": {
"id": "radiolab",
"title": "Radiolab",
"info": "A two-time Peabody Award-winner, Radiolab is an investigation told through sounds and stories, and centered around one big idea. In the Radiolab world, information sounds like music and science and culture collide. Hosted by Jad Abumrad and Robert Krulwich, the show is designed for listeners who demand skepticism, but appreciate wonder. WNYC Studios is the producer of other leading podcasts including Freakonomics Radio, Death, Sex & Money, On the Media and many more.",
"airtime": "SUN 12am-1am, SAT 2pm-3pm",
"imageSrc": "https://ww2.kqed.org/radio/wp-content/uploads/sites/50/2018/04/radiolab1400.png",
"officialWebsiteLink": "https://www.wnycstudios.org/shows/radiolab/",
"meta": {
"site": "science",
"source": "WNYC"
},
"link": "/radio/program/radiolab",
"subscribe": {
"apple": "https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/radiolab/id152249110?mt=2",
"tuneIn": "https://tunein.com/radio/RadioLab-p68032/",
"rss": "https://feeds.wnyc.org/radiolab"
}
},
"reveal": {
"id": "reveal",
"title": "Reveal",
"info": "Created by The Center for Investigative Reporting and PRX, Reveal is public radios first one-hour weekly radio show and podcast dedicated to investigative reporting. Credible, fact based and without a partisan agenda, Reveal combines the power and artistry of driveway moment storytelling with data-rich reporting on critically important issues. The result is stories that inform and inspire, arming our listeners with information to right injustices, hold the powerful accountable and improve lives.Reveal is hosted by Al Letson and showcases the award-winning work of CIR and newsrooms large and small across the nation. In a radio and podcast market crowded with choices, Reveal focuses on important and often surprising stories that illuminate the world for our listeners.",
"airtime": "SAT 4pm-5pm",
"imageSrc": "https://ww2.kqed.org/radio/wp-content/uploads/sites/50/2018/04/reveal300px.png",
"officialWebsiteLink": "https://www.revealnews.org/episodes/",
"meta": {
"site": "news",
"source": "npr"
},
"link": "/radio/program/reveal",
"subscribe": {
"apple": "https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/reveal/id886009669",
"tuneIn": "https://tunein.com/radio/Reveal-p679597/",
"rss": "http://feeds.revealradio.org/revealpodcast"
}
},
"rightnowish": {
"id": "rightnowish",
"title": "Rightnowish",
"tagline": "Art is where you find it",
"info": "Rightnowish digs into life in the Bay Area right now… ish. Journalist Pendarvis Harshaw takes us to galleries painted on the sides of liquor stores in West Oakland. We'll dance in warehouses in the Bayview, make smoothies with kids in South Berkeley, and listen to classical music in a 1984 Cutlass Supreme in Richmond. Every week, Pen talks to movers and shakers about how the Bay Area shapes what they create, and how they shape the place we call home.",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Rightnowish-Podcast-Tile-500x500-1.jpg",
"imageAlt": "KQED Rightnowish with Pendarvis Harshaw",
"officialWebsiteLink": "/podcasts/rightnowish",
"meta": {
"site": "arts",
"source": "kqed",
"order": 16
},
"link": "/podcasts/rightnowish",
"subscribe": {
"npr": "https://www.npr.org/podcasts/721590300/rightnowish",
"rss": "https://ww2.kqed.org/arts/programs/rightnowish/feed/podcast",
"apple": "https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/rightnowish/id1482187648",
"stitcher": "https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/kqed/rightnowish",
"google": "https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9mZWVkcy5tZWdhcGhvbmUuZm0vS1FJTkMxMjU5MTY3NDc4",
"spotify": "https://open.spotify.com/show/7kEJuafTzTVan7B78ttz1I"
}
},
"science-friday": {
"id": "science-friday",
"title": "Science Friday",
"info": "Science Friday is a weekly science talk show, broadcast live over public radio stations nationwide. Each week, the show focuses on science topics that are in the news and tries to bring an educated, balanced discussion to bear on the scientific issues at hand. Panels of expert guests join host Ira Flatow, a veteran science journalist, to discuss science and to take questions from listeners during the call-in portion of the program.",
"airtime": "FRI 11am-1pm",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Science-Friday-Podcast-Tile-360x360-1.jpg",
"officialWebsiteLink": "https://www.wnycstudios.org/shows/science-friday",
"meta": {
"site": "news",
"source": "npr"
},
"link": "/radio/program/science-friday",
"subscribe": {
"apple": "https://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewPodcast?s=143441&mt=2&id=73329284&at=11l79Y&ct=nprdirectory",
"tuneIn": "https://tunein.com/radio/Science-Friday-p394/",
"rss": "http://feeds.wnyc.org/science-friday"
}
},
"snap-judgment": {
"id": "snap-judgment",
"title": "Snap Judgment",
"tagline": "Real stories with killer beats",
"info": "The Snap Judgment radio show and podcast mixes real stories with killer beats to produce cinematic, dramatic radio. Snap's musical brand of storytelling dares listeners to see the world through the eyes of another. This is storytelling... with a BEAT!! Snap first aired on public radio stations nationwide in July 2010. Today, Snap Judgment airs on over 450 public radio stations and is brought to the airwaves by KQED & PRX.",
"airtime": "SAT 1pm-2pm, 9pm-10pm",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Snap-Judgment-Podcast-Tile-703x703-1.jpg",
"imageAlt": "KQED Snap Judgment",
"officialWebsiteLink": "https://snapjudgment.org",
"meta": {
"site": "arts",
"source": "kqed",
"order": 4
},
"link": "https://snapjudgment.org",
"subscribe": {
"apple": "https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/snap-judgment/id283657561",
"npr": "https://www.npr.org/podcasts/449018144/snap-judgment",
"stitcher": "https://www.pandora.com/podcast/snap-judgment/PC:241?source=stitcher-sunset",
"spotify": "https://open.spotify.com/show/3Cct7ZWmxHNAtLgBTqjC5v",
"rss": "https://snap.feed.snapjudgment.org/"
}
},
"soldout": {
"id": "soldout",
"title": "SOLD OUT: Rethinking Housing in America",
"tagline": "A new future for housing",
"info": "Sold Out: Rethinking Housing in America",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Sold-Out-Podcast-Tile-703x703-1.jpg",
"imageAlt": "KQED Sold Out: Rethinking Housing in America",
"officialWebsiteLink": "/podcasts/soldout",
"meta": {
"site": "news",
"source": "kqed",
"order": 13
},
"link": "/podcasts/soldout",
"subscribe": {
"npr": "https://www.npr.org/podcasts/911586047/s-o-l-d-o-u-t-a-new-future-for-housing",
"apple": "https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/introducing-sold-out-rethinking-housing-in-america/id1531354937",
"rss": "https://feeds.megaphone.fm/soldout",
"spotify": "https://open.spotify.com/show/38dTBSk2ISFoPiyYNoKn1X",
"stitcher": "https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/kqed/sold-out-rethinking-housing-in-america",
"tunein": "https://tunein.com/radio/SOLD-OUT-Rethinking-Housing-in-America-p1365871/"
}
},
"spooked": {
"id": "spooked",
"title": "Spooked",
"tagline": "True-life supernatural stories",
"info": "",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/Spooked-Podcast-Tile-703x703-1.jpg",
"imageAlt": "KQED Spooked",
"officialWebsiteLink": "https://spookedpodcast.org/",
"meta": {
"site": "news",
"source": "kqed",
"order": 7
},
"link": "https://spookedpodcast.org/",
"subscribe": {
"apple": "https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/spooked/id1279361017",
"npr": "https://www.npr.org/podcasts/549547848/snap-judgment-presents-spooked",
"spotify": "https://open.spotify.com/show/76571Rfl3m7PLJQZKQIGCT",
"rss": "https://feeds.simplecast.com/TBotaapn"
}
},
"tech-nation": {
"id": "tech-nation",
"title": "Tech Nation Radio Podcast",
"info": "Tech Nation is a weekly public radio program, hosted by Dr. Moira Gunn. Founded in 1993, it has grown from a simple interview show to a multi-faceted production, featuring conversations with noted technology and science leaders, and a weekly science and technology-related commentary.",
"airtime": "FRI 10pm",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Tech-Nation-Radio-Podcast-Tile-360x360-1.jpg",
"officialWebsiteLink": "http://technation.podomatic.com/",
"meta": {
"site": "science",
"source": "Tech Nation Media"
},
"link": "/radio/program/tech-nation",
"subscribe": {
"rss": "https://technation.podomatic.com/rss2.xml"
}
},
"ted-radio-hour": {
"id": "ted-radio-hour",
"title": "TED Radio Hour",
"info": "The TED Radio Hour is a journey through fascinating ideas, astonishing inventions, fresh approaches to old problems, and new ways to think and create.",
"airtime": "SUN 3pm-4pm, SAT 10pm-11pm",
"imageSrc": "https://ww2.kqed.org/radio/wp-content/uploads/sites/50/2018/04/tedRadioHour.jpg",
"officialWebsiteLink": "https://www.npr.org/programs/ted-radio-hour/?showDate=2018-06-22",
"meta": {
"site": "news",
"source": "npr"
},
"link": "/radio/program/ted-radio-hour",
"subscribe": {
"npr": "https://rpb3r.app.goo.gl/8vsS",
"apple": "https://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewPodcast?s=143441&mt=2&id=523121474&at=11l79Y&ct=nprdirectory",
"tuneIn": "https://tunein.com/radio/TED-Radio-Hour-p418021/",
"rss": "https://feeds.npr.org/510298/podcast.xml"
}
},
"thebay": {
"id": "thebay",
"title": "The Bay",
"tagline": "Local news to keep you rooted",
"info": "Host Devin Katayama walks you through the biggest story of the day with reporters and newsmakers.",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/The-Bay-Podcast-Tile-703x703-1.jpg",
"imageAlt": "KQED The Bay",
"officialWebsiteLink": "/podcasts/thebay",
"meta": {
"site": "radio",
"source": "kqed",
"order": 2
},
"link": "/podcasts/thebay",
"subscribe": {
"apple": "https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-bay/id1350043452",
"amazon": "https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/d800ea4c-7a2c-42f2-b861-edaf78a5db0b/the-bay",
"npr": "https://www.npr.org/podcasts/586725995/the-bay",
"stitcher": "https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/kqed/the-bay",
"spotify": "https://open.spotify.com/show/4BIKBKIujizLHlIlBNaAqQ",
"rss": "https://feeds.megaphone.fm/KQINC8259786327"
}
},
"thelatest": {
"id": "thelatest",
"title": "The Latest",
"tagline": "Trusted local news in real time",
"info": "",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/The-Latest-2025-Podcast-Tile-703x703-1.jpg",
"imageAlt": "KQED The Latest",
"officialWebsiteLink": "/thelatest",
"meta": {
"site": "news",
"source": "kqed",
"order": 6
},
"link": "/thelatest",
"subscribe": {
"apple": "https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-latest-from-kqed/id1197721799",
"npr": "https://www.npr.org/podcasts/1257949365/the-latest-from-k-q-e-d",
"spotify": "https://open.spotify.com/show/5KIIXMgM9GTi5AepwOYvIZ?si=bd3053fec7244dba",
"rss": "https://feeds.megaphone.fm/KQINC9137121918"
}
},
"theleap": {
"id": "theleap",
"title": "The Leap",
"tagline": "What if you closed your eyes, and jumped?",
"info": "Stories about people making dramatic, risky changes, told by award-winning public radio reporter Judy Campbell.",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/The-Leap-Podcast-Tile-703x703-1.jpg",
"imageAlt": "KQED The Leap",
"officialWebsiteLink": "/podcasts/theleap",
"meta": {
"site": "news",
"source": "kqed",
"order": 17
},
"link": "/podcasts/theleap",
"subscribe": {
"apple": "https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-leap/id1046668171",
"npr": "https://www.npr.org/podcasts/447248267/the-leap",
"stitcher": "https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/kqed/the-leap",
"spotify": "https://open.spotify.com/show/3sSlVHHzU0ytLwuGs1SD1U",
"rss": "https://ww2.kqed.org/news/programs/the-leap/feed/podcast"
}
},
"the-moth-radio-hour": {
"id": "the-moth-radio-hour",
"title": "The Moth Radio Hour",
"info": "Since its launch in 1997, The Moth has presented thousands of true stories, told live and without notes, to standing-room-only crowds worldwide. Moth storytellers stand alone, under a spotlight, with only a microphone and a roomful of strangers. The storyteller and the audience embark on a high-wire act of shared experience which is both terrifying and exhilarating. Since 2008, The Moth podcast has featured many of our favorite stories told live on Moth stages around the country. For information on all of our programs and live events, visit themoth.org.",
"airtime": "SAT 8pm-9pm and SUN 11am-12pm",
"imageSrc": "https://ww2.kqed.org/radio/wp-content/uploads/sites/50/2018/04/theMoth.jpg",
"officialWebsiteLink": "https://themoth.org/",
"meta": {
"site": "arts",
"source": "prx"
},
"link": "/radio/program/the-moth-radio-hour",
"subscribe": {
"apple": "https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/the-moth-podcast/id275699983?mt=2",
"tuneIn": "https://tunein.com/radio/The-Moth-p273888/",
"rss": "http://feeds.themoth.org/themothpodcast"
}
},
"the-new-yorker-radio-hour": {
"id": "the-new-yorker-radio-hour",
"title": "The New Yorker Radio Hour",
"info": "The New Yorker Radio Hour is a weekly program presented by the magazine's editor, David Remnick, and produced by WNYC Studios and The New Yorker. Each episode features a diverse mix of interviews, profiles, storytelling, and an occasional burst of humor inspired by the magazine, and shaped by its writers, artists, and editors. This isn't a radio version of a magazine, but something all its own, reflecting the rich possibilities of audio storytelling and conversation. Theme music for the show was composed and performed by Merrill Garbus of tUnE-YArDs.",
"airtime": "SAT 10am-11am",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/The-New-Yorker-Podcast-Tile-360x360-1.jpg",
"officialWebsiteLink": "https://www.wnycstudios.org/shows/tnyradiohour",
"meta": {
"site": "arts",
"source": "WNYC"
},
"link": "/radio/program/the-new-yorker-radio-hour",
"subscribe": {
"apple": "https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/id1050430296",
"tuneIn": "https://tunein.com/podcasts/WNYC-Podcasts/New-Yorker-Radio-Hour-p803804/",
"rss": "https://feeds.feedburner.com/newyorkerradiohour"
}
},
"the-sam-sanders-show": {
"id": "the-sam-sanders-show",
"title": "The Sam Sanders Show",
"info": "One of public radio's most dynamic voices, Sam Sanders helped launch The NPR Politics Podcast and hosted NPR's hit show It's Been A Minute. Now, the award-winning host returns with something brand new, The Sam Sanders Show. Every week, Sam Sanders and friends dig into the culture that shapes our lives: what's driving the biggest trends, how artists really think, and even the memes you can't stop scrolling past. Sam is beloved for his way of unpacking the world and bringing you up close to fresh currents and engaging conversations. The Sam Sanders Show is smart, funny and always a good time.",
"airtime": "FRI 12-1pm AND SAT 11am-12pm",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/The-Sam-Sanders-Show-Podcast-Tile-400x400-1.jpg",
"officialWebsiteLink": "https://www.kcrw.com/shows/the-sam-sanders-show/latest",
"meta": {
"site": "arts",
"source": "KCRW"
},
"link": "https://www.kcrw.com/shows/the-sam-sanders-show/latest",
"subscribe": {
"rss": "https://feed.cdnstream1.com/zjb/feed/download/ac/28/59/ac28594c-e1d0-4231-8728-61865cdc80e8.xml"
}
},
"the-splendid-table": {
"id": "the-splendid-table",
"title": "The Splendid Table",
"info": "\u003cem>The Splendid Table\u003c/em> hosts our nation's conversations about cooking, sustainability and food culture.",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/The-Splendid-Table-Podcast-Tile-360x360-1.jpg",
"officialWebsiteLink": "https://www.splendidtable.org/",
"airtime": "SUN 10-11 pm",
"meta": {
"site": "radio",
"source": "npr"
},
"link": "/radio/program/the-splendid-table"
},
"this-american-life": {
"id": "this-american-life",
"title": "This American Life",
"info": "This American Life is a weekly public radio show, heard by 2.2 million people on more than 500 stations. Another 2.5 million people download the weekly podcast. It is hosted by Ira Glass, produced in collaboration with Chicago Public Media, delivered to stations by PRX The Public Radio Exchange, and has won all of the major broadcasting awards.",
"airtime": "SAT 12pm-1pm, 7pm-8pm",
"imageSrc": "https://ww2.kqed.org/radio/wp-content/uploads/sites/50/2018/04/thisAmericanLife.png",
"officialWebsiteLink": "https://www.thisamericanlife.org/",
"meta": {
"site": "news",
"source": "wbez"
},
"link": "/radio/program/this-american-life",
"subscribe": {
"apple": "https://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewPodcast?s=143441&mt=2&id=201671138&at=11l79Y&ct=nprdirectory",
"rss": "https://www.thisamericanlife.org/podcast/rss.xml"
}
},
"tinydeskradio": {
"id": "tinydeskradio",
"title": "Tiny Desk Radio",
"info": "We're bringing the best of Tiny Desk to the airwaves, only on public radio.",
"airtime": "SUN 8pm and SAT 9pm",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/300x300-For-Member-Station-Logo-Tiny-Desk-Radio-@2x.png",
"officialWebsiteLink": "https://www.npr.org/series/g-s1-52030/tiny-desk-radio",
"meta": {
"site": "news",
"source": "npr"
},
"link": "/radio/program/tinydeskradio",
"subscribe": {
"rss": "https://feeds.npr.org/g-s1-52030/rss.xml"
}
},
"wait-wait-dont-tell-me": {
"id": "wait-wait-dont-tell-me",
"title": "Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me!",
"info": "Peter Sagal and Bill Kurtis host the weekly NPR News quiz show alongside some of the best and brightest news and entertainment personalities.",
"airtime": "SUN 10am-11am, SAT 11am-12pm, SAT 6pm-7pm",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Wait-Wait-Podcast-Tile-300x300-1.jpg",
"officialWebsiteLink": "https://www.npr.org/programs/wait-wait-dont-tell-me/",
"meta": {
"site": "news",
"source": "npr"
},
"link": "/radio/program/wait-wait-dont-tell-me",
"subscribe": {
"npr": "https://rpb3r.app.goo.gl/Xogv",
"apple": "https://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewPodcast?s=143441&mt=2&id=121493804&at=11l79Y&ct=nprdirectory",
"tuneIn": "https://tunein.com/radio/Wait-Wait-Dont-Tell-Me-p46/",
"rss": "https://feeds.npr.org/344098539/podcast.xml"
}
},
"weekend-edition-saturday": {
"id": "weekend-edition-saturday",
"title": "Weekend Edition Saturday",
"info": "Weekend Edition Saturday wraps up the week's news and offers a mix of analysis and features on a wide range of topics, including arts, sports, entertainment, and human interest stories. The two-hour program is hosted by NPR's Peabody Award-winning Scott Simon.",
"airtime": "SAT 5am-10am",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Weekend-Edition-Podcast-Tile-360x360-1.jpg",
"officialWebsiteLink": "https://www.npr.org/programs/weekend-edition-saturday/",
"meta": {
"site": "news",
"source": "npr"
},
"link": "/radio/program/weekend-edition-saturday"
},
"weekend-edition-sunday": {
"id": "weekend-edition-sunday",
"title": "Weekend Edition Sunday",
"info": "Weekend Edition Sunday features interviews with newsmakers, artists, scientists, politicians, musicians, writers, theologians and historians. The program has covered news events from Nelson Mandela's 1990 release from a South African prison to the capture of Saddam Hussein.",
"airtime": "SUN 5am-10am",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Weekend-Edition-Podcast-Tile-360x360-1.jpg",
"officialWebsiteLink": "https://www.npr.org/programs/weekend-edition-sunday/",
"meta": {
"site": "news",
"source": "npr"
},
"link": "/radio/program/weekend-edition-sunday"
}
},
"racesReducer": {},
"racesGenElectionReducer": {},
"racesGenElection2026Reducer": {},
"racesGeneralEl2026Reducer": {},
"radioSchedulesReducer": {},
"listsReducer": {
"posts/stateofhealth?category=reform": {
"isFetching": false,
"latestQuery": {
"from": 204,
"size": 12
},
"vitalsOnly": false,
"totalRequested": 12,
"isLoading": false,
"isLoadingMore": true,
"total": {
"value": 450,
"relation": "eq"
},
"items": [
"stateofhealth_17889",
"stateofhealth_17793",
"stateofhealth_17786",
"stateofhealth_17745",
"stateofhealth_17722",
"stateofhealth_17652",
"stateofhealth_17547",
"stateofhealth_17407",
"stateofhealth_17391",
"stateofhealth_17378",
"stateofhealth_17355",
"stateofhealth_17339"
],
"complete": true
}
},
"recallGuideReducer": {
"intros": {},
"policy": {},
"candidates": {}
},
"savedArticleReducer": {
"articles": [],
"status": {}
},
"newslettersReducer": {
"isFetching": false,
"fetchFailed": false,
"hasFetched": false,
"newsletters": {},
"isSubscribing": false,
"isUnsubscribing": false,
"subscribedNewsletters": {}
},
"termsReducer": {
"about": {
"name": "About",
"type": "terms",
"id": "about",
"slug": "about",
"link": "/about",
"taxonomy": "site"
},
"arts": {
"name": "Arts & Culture",
"grouping": [
"arts",
"pop",
"trulyca"
],
"description": "KQED Arts provides daily in-depth coverage of the Bay Area's music, art, film, performing arts, literature and arts news, as well as cultural commentary and criticism.",
"type": "terms",
"id": "arts",
"slug": "arts",
"link": "/arts",
"taxonomy": "site"
},
"artschool": {
"name": "Art School",
"parent": "arts",
"type": "terms",
"id": "artschool",
"slug": "artschool",
"link": "/artschool",
"taxonomy": "site"
},
"bayareabites": {
"name": "KQED food",
"grouping": [
"food",
"bayareabites",
"checkplease"
],
"parent": "food",
"type": "terms",
"id": "bayareabites",
"slug": "bayareabites",
"link": "/food",
"taxonomy": "site"
},
"bayareahiphop": {
"name": "Bay Area Hiphop",
"type": "terms",
"id": "bayareahiphop",
"slug": "bayareahiphop",
"link": "/bayareahiphop",
"taxonomy": "site"
},
"campaign21": {
"name": "Campaign 21",
"type": "terms",
"id": "campaign21",
"slug": "campaign21",
"link": "/campaign21",
"taxonomy": "site"
},
"careers": {
"name": "Careers",
"type": "terms",
"id": "careers",
"slug": "careers",
"link": "/careers",
"taxonomy": "site"
},
"checkplease": {
"name": "KQED food",
"grouping": [
"food",
"bayareabites",
"checkplease"
],
"parent": "food",
"type": "terms",
"id": "checkplease",
"slug": "checkplease",
"link": "/food",
"taxonomy": "site"
},
"education": {
"name": "Education",
"grouping": [
"education"
],
"type": "terms",
"id": "education",
"slug": "education",
"link": "/education",
"taxonomy": "site"
},
"elections": {
"name": "Elections",
"type": "terms",
"id": "elections",
"slug": "elections",
"link": "/elections",
"taxonomy": "site"
},
"events": {
"name": "Events",
"type": "terms",
"id": "events",
"slug": "events",
"link": "/events",
"taxonomy": "site"
},
"event": {
"name": "Event",
"alias": "events",
"type": "terms",
"id": "event",
"slug": "event",
"link": "/event",
"taxonomy": "site"
},
"filmschoolshorts": {
"name": "Film School Shorts",
"type": "terms",
"id": "filmschoolshorts",
"slug": "filmschoolshorts",
"link": "/filmschoolshorts",
"taxonomy": "site"
},
"food": {
"name": "KQED food",
"grouping": [
"food",
"bayareabites",
"checkplease"
],
"type": "terms",
"id": "food",
"slug": "food",
"link": "/food",
"taxonomy": "site"
},
"forum": {
"name": "Forum",
"relatedContentQuery": "posts/forum?",
"parent": "news",
"type": "terms",
"id": "forum",
"slug": "forum",
"link": "/forum",
"taxonomy": "site"
},
"futureofyou": {
"name": "Future of You",
"grouping": [
"science",
"futureofyou"
],
"parent": "science",
"type": "terms",
"id": "futureofyou",
"slug": "futureofyou",
"link": "/futureofyou",
"taxonomy": "site"
},
"jpepinheart": {
"name": "KQED food",
"relatedContentQuery": "posts/food,bayareabites,checkplease",
"parent": "food",
"type": "terms",
"id": "jpepinheart",
"slug": "jpepinheart",
"link": "/food",
"taxonomy": "site"
},
"liveblog": {
"name": "Live Blog",
"type": "terms",
"id": "liveblog",
"slug": "liveblog",
"link": "/liveblog",
"taxonomy": "site"
},
"livetv": {
"name": "Live TV",
"parent": "tv",
"type": "terms",
"id": "livetv",
"slug": "livetv",
"link": "/livetv",
"taxonomy": "site"
},
"lowdown": {
"name": "The Lowdown",
"relatedContentQuery": "posts/lowdown?",
"parent": "news",
"type": "terms",
"id": "lowdown",
"slug": "lowdown",
"link": "/lowdown",
"taxonomy": "site"
},
"mindshift": {
"name": "Mindshift",
"parent": "news",
"description": "MindShift explores the future of education by highlighting the innovative – and sometimes counterintuitive – ways educators and parents are helping all children succeed.",
"type": "terms",
"id": "mindshift",
"slug": "mindshift",
"link": "/mindshift",
"taxonomy": "site"
},
"news": {
"name": "News",
"grouping": [
"news",
"forum"
],
"type": "terms",
"id": "news",
"slug": "news",
"link": "/news",
"taxonomy": "site"
},
"newsletters": {
"name": "newsletters",
"type": "terms",
"id": "newsletters",
"slug": "newsletters",
"link": "/newsletters",
"taxonomy": "site"
},
"perspectives": {
"name": "Perspectives",
"parent": "radio",
"type": "terms",
"id": "perspectives",
"slug": "perspectives",
"link": "/perspectives",
"taxonomy": "site"
},
"podcasts": {
"name": "Podcasts",
"type": "terms",
"id": "podcasts",
"slug": "podcasts",
"link": "/podcasts",
"taxonomy": "site"
},
"pop": {
"name": "Pop",
"parent": "arts",
"type": "terms",
"id": "pop",
"slug": "pop",
"link": "/pop",
"taxonomy": "site"
},
"pressroom": {
"name": "Pressroom",
"type": "terms",
"id": "pressroom",
"slug": "pressroom",
"link": "/pressroom",
"taxonomy": "site"
},
"quest": {
"name": "Quest",
"parent": "science",
"type": "terms",
"id": "quest",
"slug": "quest",
"link": "/quest",
"taxonomy": "site"
},
"radio": {
"name": "Radio",
"grouping": [
"forum",
"perspectives"
],
"description": "Listen to KQED Public Radio – home of Forum and The California Report – on 88.5 FM in San Francisco, 89.3 FM in Sacramento, 88.3 FM in Santa Rosa and 88.1 FM in Martinez.",
"type": "terms",
"id": "radio",
"slug": "radio",
"link": "/radio",
"taxonomy": "site"
},
"root": {
"name": "KQED",
"image": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/2020/02/KQED-OG-Image@1x.png",
"imageWidth": 1200,
"imageHeight": 630,
"headData": {
"title": "KQED | News, Radio, Podcasts, TV | Public Media for Northern California",
"description": "KQED provides public radio, television, and independent reporting on issues that matter to the Bay Area. We’re the NPR and PBS member station for Northern California."
},
"type": "terms",
"id": "root",
"slug": "root",
"link": "/root",
"taxonomy": "site"
},
"science": {
"name": "Science",
"grouping": [
"science",
"futureofyou"
],
"description": "KQED Science brings you award-winning science and environment coverage from the Bay Area and beyond.",
"type": "terms",
"id": "science",
"slug": "science",
"link": "/science",
"taxonomy": "site"
},
"stateofhealth": {
"name": "State of Health",
"parent": "science",
"type": "terms",
"id": "stateofhealth",
"slug": "stateofhealth",
"link": "/stateofhealth",
"taxonomy": "site"
},
"support": {
"name": "Support",
"type": "terms",
"id": "support",
"slug": "support",
"link": "/support",
"taxonomy": "site"
},
"thedolist": {
"name": "The Do List",
"parent": "arts",
"type": "terms",
"id": "thedolist",
"slug": "thedolist",
"link": "/thedolist",
"taxonomy": "site"
},
"trulyca": {
"name": "Truly CA",
"grouping": [
"arts",
"pop",
"trulyca"
],
"parent": "arts",
"type": "terms",
"id": "trulyca",
"slug": "trulyca",
"link": "/trulyca",
"taxonomy": "site"
},
"tv": {
"name": "TV",
"type": "terms",
"id": "tv",
"slug": "tv",
"link": "/tv",
"taxonomy": "site"
},
"voterguide": {
"name": "Voter Guide",
"parent": "elections",
"alias": "elections",
"type": "terms",
"id": "voterguide",
"slug": "voterguide",
"link": "/voterguide",
"taxonomy": "site"
},
"guiaelectoral": {
"name": "Guia Electoral",
"parent": "elections",
"alias": "elections",
"type": "terms",
"id": "guiaelectoral",
"slug": "guiaelectoral",
"link": "/guiaelectoral",
"taxonomy": "site"
},
"stateofhealth_category_reform": {
"isLoading": true
},
"stateofhealth_15": {
"type": "terms",
"id": "stateofhealth_15",
"meta": {
"index": "terms_1716263798",
"site": "stateofhealth",
"id": "15",
"found": true
},
"relationships": {},
"featImg": null,
"name": "Obamacare",
"description": "The Affordable Care Act celebrates its seventh birthday this year. California has embraced the law, but will it survive a new Congress and President? \r\n",
"taxonomy": "category",
"headData": {
"twImgId": null,
"twTitle": null,
"ogTitle": null,
"ogImgId": null,
"twDescription": null,
"description": "The Affordable Care Act celebrates its seventh birthday this year. California has embraced the law, but will it survive a new Congress and President?",
"title": "Obamacare Archives | KQED Arts",
"ogDescription": null
},
"ttid": 15,
"slug": "reform",
"isLoading": false,
"link": "/stateofhealth/category/reform"
},
"stateofhealth_14": {
"type": "terms",
"id": "stateofhealth_14",
"meta": {
"index": "terms_1716263798",
"site": "stateofhealth",
"id": "14",
"found": true
},
"relationships": {},
"featImg": null,
"name": "Policy",
"description": "Actions by people in power – lawmakers, regulators and the like – can make a difference to your health, for better or for worse. We keep you informed",
"taxonomy": "category",
"headData": {
"twImgId": null,
"twTitle": null,
"ogTitle": null,
"ogImgId": null,
"twDescription": null,
"description": "Actions by people in power – lawmakers, regulators and the like – can make a difference to your health, for better or for worse. We keep you informed",
"title": "Policy Archives | KQED Arts",
"ogDescription": null
},
"ttid": 14,
"slug": "policy",
"isLoading": false,
"link": "/stateofhealth/category/policy"
},
"stateofhealth_368": {
"type": "terms",
"id": "stateofhealth_368",
"meta": {
"index": "terms_1716263798",
"site": "stateofhealth",
"id": "368",
"found": true
},
"relationships": {},
"featImg": null,
"name": "Covered California",
"description": null,
"taxonomy": "tag",
"headData": {
"twImgId": null,
"twTitle": null,
"ogTitle": null,
"ogImgId": null,
"twDescription": null,
"description": null,
"title": "Covered California Archives | KQED Arts",
"ogDescription": null
},
"ttid": 369,
"slug": "covered-california",
"isLoading": false,
"link": "/stateofhealth/tag/covered-california"
},
"stateofhealth_402": {
"type": "terms",
"id": "stateofhealth_402",
"meta": {
"index": "terms_1716263798",
"site": "stateofhealth",
"id": "402",
"found": true
},
"relationships": {},
"featImg": null,
"name": "Medicaid Expansion",
"description": null,
"taxonomy": "tag",
"headData": {
"twImgId": null,
"twTitle": null,
"ogTitle": null,
"ogImgId": null,
"twDescription": null,
"description": null,
"title": "Medicaid Expansion Archives | KQED Arts",
"ogDescription": null
},
"ttid": 403,
"slug": "medicaid-expansion",
"isLoading": false,
"link": "/stateofhealth/tag/medicaid-expansion"
},
"stateofhealth_79": {
"type": "terms",
"id": "stateofhealth_79",
"meta": {
"index": "terms_1716263798",
"site": "stateofhealth",
"id": "79",
"found": true
},
"relationships": {},
"featImg": null,
"name": "Uninsured",
"description": null,
"taxonomy": "tag",
"headData": {
"twImgId": null,
"twTitle": null,
"ogTitle": null,
"ogImgId": null,
"twDescription": null,
"description": null,
"title": "Uninsured Archives | KQED Arts",
"ogDescription": null
},
"ttid": 79,
"slug": "uninsured",
"isLoading": false,
"link": "/stateofhealth/tag/uninsured"
},
"stateofhealth_325": {
"type": "terms",
"id": "stateofhealth_325",
"meta": {
"index": "terms_1716263798",
"site": "stateofhealth",
"id": "325",
"found": true
},
"relationships": {},
"featImg": null,
"name": "Latino Health",
"description": null,
"taxonomy": "tag",
"headData": {
"twImgId": null,
"twTitle": null,
"ogTitle": null,
"ogImgId": null,
"twDescription": null,
"description": null,
"title": "Latino Health Archives | KQED Arts",
"ogDescription": null
},
"ttid": 326,
"slug": "latino-health",
"isLoading": false,
"link": "/stateofhealth/tag/latino-health"
},
"stateofhealth_11": {
"type": "terms",
"id": "stateofhealth_11",
"meta": {
"index": "terms_1716263798",
"site": "stateofhealth",
"id": "11",
"found": true
},
"relationships": {},
"featImg": null,
"name": "Community Health",
"description": "\r\n\r\nFrom rural California to urban neighborhoods, where you live affects your health",
"taxonomy": "category",
"headData": {
"twImgId": null,
"twTitle": null,
"ogTitle": null,
"ogImgId": null,
"twDescription": null,
"description": "From rural California to urban neighborhoods, where you live affects your health",
"title": "Community Health Archives | KQED Arts",
"ogDescription": null
},
"ttid": 11,
"slug": "place-matters",
"isLoading": false,
"link": "/stateofhealth/category/place-matters"
},
"stateofhealth_99": {
"type": "terms",
"id": "stateofhealth_99",
"meta": {
"index": "terms_1716263798",
"site": "stateofhealth",
"id": "99",
"found": true
},
"relationships": {},
"featImg": null,
"name": "Medi-Cal",
"description": null,
"taxonomy": "tag",
"headData": {
"twImgId": null,
"twTitle": null,
"ogTitle": null,
"ogImgId": null,
"twDescription": null,
"description": null,
"title": "Medi-Cal Archives | KQED Arts",
"ogDescription": null
},
"ttid": 99,
"slug": "medi-cal",
"isLoading": false,
"link": "/stateofhealth/tag/medi-cal"
},
"stateofhealth_105": {
"type": "terms",
"id": "stateofhealth_105",
"meta": {
"index": "terms_1716263798",
"site": "stateofhealth",
"id": "105",
"found": true
},
"relationships": {},
"featImg": null,
"name": "Medicare",
"description": null,
"taxonomy": "tag",
"headData": {
"twImgId": null,
"twTitle": null,
"ogTitle": null,
"ogImgId": null,
"twDescription": null,
"description": null,
"title": "Medicare Archives | KQED Arts",
"ogDescription": null
},
"ttid": 105,
"slug": "medicare",
"isLoading": false,
"link": "/stateofhealth/tag/medicare"
},
"stateofhealth_261": {
"type": "terms",
"id": "stateofhealth_261",
"meta": {
"index": "terms_1716263798",
"site": "stateofhealth",
"id": "261",
"found": true
},
"relationships": {},
"featImg": null,
"name": "Health Insurance Premiums",
"description": null,
"taxonomy": "tag",
"headData": {
"twImgId": null,
"twTitle": null,
"ogTitle": null,
"ogImgId": null,
"twDescription": null,
"description": null,
"title": "Health Insurance Premiums Archives | KQED Arts",
"ogDescription": null
},
"ttid": 261,
"slug": "health-insurance-premiums",
"isLoading": false,
"link": "/stateofhealth/tag/health-insurance-premiums"
},
"stateofhealth_116": {
"type": "terms",
"id": "stateofhealth_116",
"meta": {
"index": "terms_1716263798",
"site": "stateofhealth",
"id": "116",
"found": true
},
"relationships": {},
"featImg": null,
"name": "Anthem Blue Cross",
"description": null,
"taxonomy": "tag",
"headData": {
"twImgId": null,
"twTitle": null,
"ogTitle": null,
"ogImgId": null,
"twDescription": null,
"description": null,
"title": "Anthem Blue Cross Archives | KQED Arts",
"ogDescription": null
},
"ttid": 116,
"slug": "anthem-blue-cross",
"isLoading": false,
"link": "/stateofhealth/tag/anthem-blue-cross"
},
"stateofhealth_659": {
"type": "terms",
"id": "stateofhealth_659",
"meta": {
"index": "terms_1716263798",
"site": "stateofhealth",
"id": "659",
"found": true
},
"relationships": {},
"featImg": null,
"name": "Health Insurance Cancellations",
"description": null,
"taxonomy": "tag",
"headData": {
"twImgId": null,
"twTitle": null,
"ogTitle": null,
"ogImgId": null,
"twDescription": null,
"description": null,
"title": "Health Insurance Cancellations Archives | KQED Arts",
"ogDescription": null
},
"ttid": 660,
"slug": "health-insurance-cancellations",
"isLoading": false,
"link": "/stateofhealth/tag/health-insurance-cancellations"
}
},
"userPermissionsReducer": {
"wpLoggedIn": false
},
"eventsReducer": {},
"fssReducer": {},
"tvDailyScheduleReducer": {},
"tvWeeklyScheduleReducer": {},
"tvPrimetimeScheduleReducer": {},
"tvMonthlyScheduleReducer": {},
"userAccountReducer": {
"user": {
"email": null,
"emailStatus": "EMAIL_UNVALIDATED",
"loggedStatus": "LOGGED_OUT",
"loggingChecked": false,
"articles": [],
"firstName": null,
"lastName": null,
"phoneNumber": null,
"fetchingMembership": false,
"membershipError": false,
"memberships": [
{
"id": null,
"startDate": null,
"firstName": null,
"lastName": null,
"familyNumber": null,
"memberNumber": null,
"memberSince": null,
"expirationDate": null,
"pfsEligible": false,
"isSustaining": false,
"membershipLevel": "Prospect",
"membershipStatus": "Non Member",
"lastGiftDate": null,
"renewalDate": null,
"lastDonationAmount": null
}
]
},
"authModal": {
"isOpen": false,
"view": "LANDING_VIEW"
},
"error": null
},
"youthMediaReducer": {},
"checkPleaseReducer": {
"filterData": {
"region": {
"key": "Restaurant Region",
"filters": [
"Any Region"
]
},
"cuisine": {
"key": "Restaurant Cuisine",
"filters": [
"Any Cuisine"
]
}
},
"restaurantDataById": {},
"restaurantIdsSorted": [],
"error": null
},
"userAgentReducer": {
"userAgent": "Mozilla/5.0 AppleWebKit/537.36 (KHTML, like Gecko; compatible; ClaudeBot/1.0; +claudebot@anthropic.com)",
"isBot": true
},
"requestOutcomesReducer": {
"notFound": []
},
"navPromosReducer": {
"isFetching": false,
"fetchFailed": false,
"hasFetched": true,
"promos": {
"news": {
"name": "2026 Voter Guide",
"link": "/voterguide",
"imageURL": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/Nav-News-Nov2026ElectionCoverage@2x-7bd4aad4.png",
"description": "Get informed in minutes with our Voter Guide for California’s November 3 election."
},
"podcasts-radio": {},
"video-tv": {},
"events": {},
"support": {}
}
}
}
