Covered California, the state-run health insurance exchange, is in the process of trying to acquire documents confirming the lawful presence in the U.S. of 98,000 consumers who enrolled in Covered California plans in 2014.
Covered California has sent letters to tens of thousands of consumers with eligibility inconsistencies advising them that they must provide proof of their lawful presence in the U.S. by September 30, 2014, or risk termination of their health coverage.
In a previous post we covered the definition of lawful presence according to Covered California; essentially, U.S. citizens, U.S. nationals, and individuals with eligible immigration status are considered lawfully present. There are dozens of situations that may qualify someone as having eligible immigration status. These include, but are not limited to, having a green card, being a lawful permanent resident who lives and works permanently in the U.S., and survivors of domestic violence, trafficking, and other serious crimes.
More than 700,000 documents have been verified and processed to date, according to Covered California, and they stressed that any documents consumers submit are confidential and will only be used to determine eligibility for health insurance plans and programs, and will not be used to enforce immigration laws.
Covered California will offer consumers instructions on how to upload the required documents to their online accounts, or mail or fax the documents, and a staff of assistants at Covered CA is available to help consumers, as well.
BenefitPackages can help you determine your eligibility for plans through Covered California and whether you may qualify for subsidies to help pay for coverage. Call us today to learn more.