Photo Credit: Tarryn Mento, KPBS
By Kenny Goldberg
The latest enrollment numbers from Covered California show more than 625,000 people have signed up for new health insurance plans.
Between Oct. 1 and mid-December, Latinos represented only 5 percent of total enrollment.
Things changed in the last two weeks of the year. By the end of December, Latino enrollment had risen to nearly 20 percent of the total.
Covered California Executive Director Peter Lee said he’s pleased with the upward trend, but cautioned it’s a work in progress.
“We know that Latinos are more apt to be uninsured, which means, like many young people, it’s a longer education process. It’s a longer engagement process,” Lee said.
Latinos also make up an estimated 30 percent of those who’ve started applications but haven’t selected a plan.
Officials say more than 5.3 million Californians are eligible to apply for Covered California plans. About half are eligible for subsidies.