15 percent of Merced County adults continue without health insurance, data show

More California residents than ever are covered by health insurance, according to recent reports. And while Merced County has seen its percentage of uninsured fall to a new low, that rate has hit a plateau that experts say will be hard to move past.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recently reported that 8.6 percent of state residents lacked health insurance, a “historic low,” according to Covered California, the state’s health insurance exchange. The rate was slightly better than the national average, estimated at 9 percent.

“California’s uninsured rate is even lower because California has used all the tools of the Affordable Care Act – expanding Medi-Cal and launching an exchange that is bringing real value to our residents,” said Peter V. Lee, Covered California’s executive director, in a statement.

But Merced County, with 15 percent uninsured, was among the handful of California counties with higher-than-average numbers. Madera, Fresno, Kings and Kern counties also reported 15 percent uninsured, and Tulare County had 16 percent, according to a New York Times map created with information provided by Enroll America, a coalition that measures health care enrollment.

Merced’s figure was a significant improvement from 2013, when the rate of uninsured stood at 24 percent, as estimated by the map data. This means that since the rollout of the Affordable Care Act, the county’s uninsured population has dropped by 9 percentage points. But there has been no further improvement since 2014.

Why hasn’t Merced County’s uninsured rate changed much in the past year? Enrollment experts say it’s hard to point to one factor.

The remaining 15 percent in Merced County is what enrollment counselors and insurance agents call the “harder-to-reach population.”

Alex Hernandez, a health insurance agent in Merced, said most of the people that walked into his office during the last enrollment period were looking to renew their coverage. Fewer enrolled for the first time.

He is seeing something similar this current open-enrollment period, which started Nov. 1 and runs through Jan. 31.

“There’s a decline in new membership, but we’re still busy because we’re renewing coverage or helping people fix mistakes on policies,” he said. Hernandez said people have shared various reasons for not having signed up for coverage sooner. Complications with the application process and costs tend to be some of the most noted, he said.

People looking to sign up now are being driven in big part to avoid the tax penalty, Hernandez said. People without health insurance may face a penalty of $325 per adult or 2 percent of their income, whichever is greater, when they file their 2015 taxes.

In Merced County, adults in their prime working years – ages 18 to 34 – were the largest uninsured group, with 21 percent still lacking health coverage, according to the maps.

The uninsured rate estimates shown by the Enroll America interactive maps count for all of those without coverage, regardless of legal status.

Veronica Chavez, patient services coordinator with Livingston Community Health clinics, said a chunk of the remaining uninsured in the county are probably ineligible to sign up. “That number is never going to reach zero until (undocumented people) are eligible for coverage,” she said.

Chavez also noted that promotion for health coverage is strong during the open enrollment period, but is less so during the rest of the year. People forget or don’t realize that Medi-Cal coverage, the health care program for low-income people, is open year-round, Chavez said.

Enrollment counselors at Livingston Community Health are ramping up their efforts to remind parents of children born outside the U.S. that, come May 2016, these children will be eligible for full-scope coverage under the Health for All Kids bill.

Chavez urges people who remain uninsured to do their research, seek help and not wait until the last minute.

This story was originally published November 12, 2015 at 7:05 PM with the headline "15 percent of Merced County adults continue without health insurance, data show."