Last Updated on January 13, 2023 by CCAR Staff
POMONA >> A blue-green bus with the words Covered California and messages urging people to sign up for health insurance rolled into Ontario and Pomona Tuesday as part of a 48 city, 10 day tour across the state to highlight organizations making an effort to sign up people for health coverage.
In Pomona, the Covered California bus carrying Peter Lee, executive director of the state’s marketplace for the federal Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, stopped at the Pomona Community Health Center at the Village at Indian Hill and at Ortiz and Associates near the southeast corner of Garey Avenue and Third Street in downtown Pomona.
“This one insurance agency over the last two years has (enrolled) more than 5,000 people,” Lee said of Ortiz and Associates.
The company’s personnel have done an impressive job, but there are many people in Pomona who don’t have insurance and qualify for financial assistance that will help them purchase insurance or qualify for Medi-Cal coverage at low cost or no cost, he said.
“Tens of thousands of people in Pomona are eligible for subsidies,” Lee said.
People have heard about Obamacare, he said, “but they don’t believe it’s affordable to them.”
Having health insurance means a person will not have to shoulder a heavy financial burden if they have a serious medical problem, he said adding that “if something bad happens you’re going to get access to (the) best hospitals.”
The bus tour also stopped at the Pomona Community Health Center because it offers more than quality health care services, Lee said.
Personnel at the center are prepared to help patients sign up for health insurance, he said.
Alicia Ortiz, who partners with her husband in the family-owned Ortiz and Associates, said the secret to their success in enrolling people is customer service.
“Enrollment is just signing them up. The real job is answering their questions,” she said.
People have questions — ranging from why their insurance identification cards haven’t arrived to why their doctor won’t take their insurance — and they need someone who can help them.
“People need to be able to reach out to someone,” Ortiz said.
At the Pomona Community Health Center, “we never turn anybody away. We take care of everyone,” said Ellen Silver, chief executive officer.
In addition to providing quality health services, personnel work with patients to find out if they qualify for Medi-Cal or another insurance plan and help them find a plan that meets their health and financial situation, she said.
The open enrollment period continues through Jan. 31. For information about Covered California, visit coveredca.com.
