Kaiser Opens Retail Stores To Help Residents Enroll in Covered Calif.
Kaiser Permanente has rented out retail space across Northern California to help residents sign up for health insurance through Covered California, the state health insurance exchange, Payers & Providers reports.
The ShopKP initiative -- which launched Oct. 1 -- follows a Kaiser program last year that installed two kiosks at shopping malls in San Francisco and Roseville to educate consumers about the Affordable Care Act. The kiosks have received more than 10,000 inquiries.
Details of ShopKP
The initiative uses retail space in:
- Fresno;
- Modesto
- Sacramento; and
- San Jose.
Another location in Stockton is planned for December.
The stores will be open all year and include on-site certified enrollment navigators who are licensed by the state Department of Insurance. Kaiser has hired 40 navigators for the initiative.
At the stores, consumers can enroll in both Kaiser and non-Kaiser health plans offered through the state exchange.
In addition to the retail spaces, Kaiser is deploying two enrollment vehicles in San Joaquin Valley in the coming months. The vehicles will be equipped with:
- A secure Internet connection; and
- Private rooms where individuals can enroll in exchange plans.
Kaiser spokesperson Marc Brown said that the program currently is in the pilot stage and that the health system "will apply lessons from this effort going forward" (Shinkman, Payers & Providers, 10/24).
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