California is falling short of its goal to sign up 1.7 million people for private insurance in the second year of the federal health expansion, but state officials hope to make up much of the difference this weekend.
Sunday is the open enrollment deadline to purchase individual health insurance through Covered California, the state's exchange established under the Affordable Care Act. About 1.3 million people 400,000 fewer than the goal — have either signed up for new coverage or started renewing coverage, the state reported Thursday.
Missing the enrollment goal may reflect badly on Covered California, which beat projections the first year, but it won't affect insurance premiums.
People who start to enroll or make an appointment by the deadline will have until Feb. 20 to finish.
Executive Director Peter Lee said the state is hoping for a late surge because people tend to wait until the last minute. He said California remains a big and diverse market for health plans to offer competitive rates.
"Whether we end this open enrollment period with 1.3 or 1.7 million, 1.3 million is a huge number and a mammoth marketplace for insurers,'' Lee said.
In some ways, California was the victim of its own success, said Anthony Wright, executive director of Health Access California, a consumer coalition.
"We always knew that this enrollment period would be half as short but twice as tough,'' Wright said. "The folks who didn't get enrolled in first round are by definition harder to get to.''
About 1.2 million Californians enrolled in the first year under changes that prevented health plans from rejecting people based on preexisting conditions. Covered California had set a goal to enroll 500,000 new customers in the second year.
Since open enrollment began Nov. 15, more than 354,000 people have selected a plan. Another 944,000 people are in the process of renewing coverage for 2015, the exchange reported.
Sonya Vasquez, policy director for Community Health Councils in Los Angeles, said this year's enrollment season hasn't been as intense.
"It's definitely busy, but it's a different feel than last year,'' said Vasquez, whose organization helps people sign up. "It's not as hectic. Last year it was all hands on deck.''
Vasquez said people are finding out about penalties as they complete their taxes. By law, most people are required to have insurance or face a tax penalty that increases each year.
For example, the penalty for a person who makes $40,000 will increase from $299 in 2014 to nearly $600 in 2015. And a family of four with that same income would see fines increase from $500 to nearly $1,000.
The law is mainly geared to the uninsured and to people who buy coverage directly from insurance companies. Most Americans in employer plans are not expected to see major changes.
Low-income uninsured people are being steered to safety net programs like Medicaid.
