Covered California: For Californians who hope to sign up for health care coverage under the federal Affordable Care Act, now is the time to act. March 15 is the last date to purchase a policy for coverage that will begin on April 1.
March 31 marks the official end of open enrollment for purchasing policies for 2014. Those who purchase a policy by the 31st will be able to start their coverage
on May 1.
Deadlines:
- March 15 = Coverage April 1.
- March 31 = Coverage May 1.
After these deadlines pass, the next open enrollment period for purchasing health insurance policies through Covered California will be
November 15 – January 15, 2015.
According to Covered California, by mid-February, more than 828,600 Californians had signed up for new policies. Of these people, about 86% were eligible for federal subsidies.
Reaching LEP health care consumers has been paramount for Covered California, and there is a Spanish version of this site, at https://www.coveredca.com/espanol/ to enable Spanish-speaking consumers to apply for coverage.
For speakers of other languages, there are fact sheets and information provided on the English site in Arabic, Armenian, Chinese, Farsi, Hmong, Khmer, Korean, Lao, Russian, Spanish, Tagalog and Vietnamese. To access these fact sheets, visit www.coverdca.com and click on “Languages” in the upper right hand corner, or visit https://www.coveredca.com/fact-sheets/ to go directly to the fact sheets.
Another way LEP people can receive help is by going to Covered California’s site, typing in their zip code, and accessing a list of local organizations and insurance agents who are certified to sell the policies, as well as the languages in which they are fluent, including Spanish, Hindi, Mandarin and Vietnamese.
While consumers have complained about long delays, website glitches and other sign-up issues, the website is now functioning smoothly and additional staffers have been hired to handle live chat and call-in center volume.
Accurate translation into other languages is one key factor in getting more people to sign up for healthcare through Covered California. The Spanish version of the national healthcare site, CuidadoDeSalud.gov, encountered numerous communication difficulties due to faulty translation, detailed in this Avantpage blog entry: https://avantpage.com/problems-spanish-version-healtchare-gov/
These translation issues point to the need to provide translation that is accurate, grammar-free, culturally appropriate and fully understandable by the target audience. Using skilled translators who are fully fluent in both English and the target language, as well as familiar with healthcare language and terms, is critical when reaching out to LEP individuals and encouraging them to purchase health insurance. Whether you are conducting healthcare outreach programs, preparing onsite materials, or providing written information, forms or other healthcare documentation, selecting the right translation company is a large part of your successful campaign.
Choosing an organization such as Avantpage ensures that your translated documents are flawlessly presented in your target language. Reading level, comprehension, cultural differences and shades of meaning are all taken into account. As a result, your translated materials read as if they were produced in the target language, enabling your audience to comprehend and understand information more easily.
