Back in October, officials predicted 43,000 San Diegans would enroll in Covered California health plans.
The final number was 121,900 — nearly triple that projection.
Almost 1.4 million people enrolled statewide. 1.2 million were eligible for federal subsidies.
In addition, San Diego County officials report more than 100,000 residents signed up for the expanded Medi-Cal program.
Gary Rotto is director of health policy at the Council of Community Clinics. He said when you combine Covered California and Medi-Cal enrollments, the number of uninsured in the county has been reduced by more than 40 percent.
“I don’t that think anybody could have projected that, especially with the hiccups that we all had in the beginning," Rotto said. "Our process went a little bit smoother than that at the federal level, but still, there were some start-up issues.”
Rotto pointed out the main issue now is to make sure people have access to care. He said there’s ample primary care, but specialty services remain a challenge.
