Covered California Rate Announcement Response
<b><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: times new roman,serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">CONSUMER ADVOCATES TO RESPOND TO COVERED CALIFORNIA RATE INCREASES DRIVEN BY FEDERAL SABOTAGE</span></span></span></b><br><b><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: times new roman,serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">SACRAMENTO, CA </span></span></span></b><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: times new roman,serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">— Today, Covered California, which enrolls 1.4 million Californians in health coverage, unveiled the rates for the 2019 plan year. Consumers will see an increase in premium rates, much of which caused by the Trump Administration and Congress' actions that destabilized our health care system. This increase is below those expected in other states due to legislative and administrative steps California has taken to shield consumers from the brunt of these Congressional and administrative attacks.</span></span></span><br><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: times new roman,serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Covered California also announced that all 11 insurers will stay in the state's exchange, providing robust competition and options for consumers.</span></span></span><br><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: times new roman,serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Health care consumers, advocates, and experts will hold a press call TODAY at <span><span>1:00pm PST</span></span> to discuss what this announcement means for Californians, detail what we've done to protect patients, and the steps we can take to mitigate the sabotage even further.</span></span></span><br><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: times new roman,serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">WHO: Anthony Wright, Executive Director, Health Access California</span></span></span><br><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: times new roman,serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> Betsy Imholz, Special Projects Director, Consumers Union</span></span></span><br><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: times new roman,serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> Xiomara Pena, Deputy Director, California, Small Business Majority</span></span></span><br><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: times new roman,serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> Heather Altman, Covered California consumer</span></span></span><br><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: times new roman,serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> ***For credentialed media only***</span></span></span><br>