Covered California plans to double in price next year as open enrollment approaches

By Steve Large

Covered California’s open enrollment begins Nov. 1, and now the new higher-priced healthcare plans under the state’s Affordable Care Act marketplace are available for people to see.

A mid-30s Sacramento couple making $50,000 a year might find a range of options, including a Western Health HMO plan for $33 a month, a Kaiser HMO plan for $166 a month, and a Blue Shield HMO plan for $181 a month. 

Next year, those same plans increase to $278, $330, and $392 a month, respectively. Overall, Covered California plans will double in price. 

“And the sticker shock is going to start happening,” Covered California Executive Director Jessica Altman said.

Michael Lee Change is a Covered California enrollee and student at Sacramento State who is bracing for the healthcare cost increase. He said a plan with his mother is set to increase $400 a month. 

“I’m maybe thinking going one meal less a day,” Lee Chang said. “I mean, we’re talking drastic cuts to my life.”

The healthcare price hikes are part of the battle that is shutting the federal government down. If Congress does nothing, tax subsidies put in place during COVID that help pay for Covered California will end. 

“Honestly, the most common question I get is, ‘What am I supposed to do?'” Altman said. “And I do think some consumers are going to be surprised by these costs.”

Altman says there are currently 2 million Californians enrolled in Covered California. She says she expects as many as 400,000 could drop that coverage altogether because of the increased costs.