Anthem Blue Cross Leading Insurers in Covered California Enrollees

Anthem Blue Cross is leading all health insurers in the number of new enrollees in private health plans offered through Covered California, the Los Angeles Times' "Money & Co." reports (Terhune, "Money & Co.," Los Angeles Times, 1/22).

Background

About 625,000 California residents have selected health plans on the exchange through the first two weeks of January, according to numbers released Tuesday by Covered California.

In addition, about 75% of new enrollees have paid their premiums and are officially receiving coverage through the exchange (Gorn, "Capitol Desk," California Healthline, 1/22).

Enrollment Details

The data released Tuesday show that among insurers offering plans through Covered California:

• 155,146 residents, or 31% of the market share, have enrolled in Anthem Blue Cross plans;
• 148,137 residents, or 30% of the market share, have enrolled in Blue Shield of California plans;
• 93,415 residents, or 19% of the market share, have enrolled in Kaiser Permanente plans; and
• 81,488 residents, or 16% of the market share, have enrolled in Health Net plans.

Kaiser held 24% of the market share in December, but enrollments have declined in part due to high exchange premiums, analysts say.

State officials said they do not yet know how many of the enrollees were previously insured ("Money & Co.," Los Angeles Times, 1/22).