Merced residents can start enrolling for health coverage this week

The start of 2017 is about two months away, and residents under Covered California health insurance can start enrolling now to make sure they’re covered by New Year’s Day.

Open enrollment began Tuesday and will continue through Jan. 31, 2017. In order to be insured by Jan. 1, residents need to register by Dec.15, according to the Covered California website.

Enrollment is based on age of the individual, the area they live in, household size and income. Eligibility for financial help or programs like Medi-Cal are based on the federal poverty level, or FPL, set by the government each year.

Next year’s FPL can be found at http://www.coveredca.com/PDFs/FPL-chart.pdf.

Undocumented children up to age 19 have been eligible for full-scope Medi-Cal benefits as of May 2016.

Mary-Michal Rawling, director of government affairs for Golden Valley Health Centers, encourages families who have documented and undocumented members to come in to talk about options and receive information. All of the information is confidential, she said.

“Laws are always changing, and access to health coverage is the first step to improve overall well-being,” Rawling said.

Golden Valley, on Childs Avenue in Merced, started the three-month period with an enrollment fair. For the rest of the enrollment period, Golden Valley will have more enrollment events around Merced County that can be found at http://www.gvhc.org/events/.

Last year, Golden Valley enrolled about 1,100, Rawling said, and this year its goal is 700. Individuals are able to enroll at Golden Valley’s enrollment center on Childs Avenue on Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.

For more information or questions, contact the enrollment office at Golden Valley at 209-385-5490.

To apply online or for paper applications, go to http://www.coveredca.com/apply/.

This story was originally published November 2, 2016 at 5:33 PM with the headline "Merced residents can start enrolling for health coverage this week."