Covered California sees record growth as nearly two million enroll for healthcare

SACRAMENTO — As the deadline for 2025 health insurance sign-ups passed, Covered California announced a record-breaking achievement: nearly two million Californians are now enrolled in health plans through the state's marketplace. The final tally stands at 1,979,504 enrollees, with 345,711 new sign-ups and more than 1.6 million renewals.

The surge in enrollment continues a steady trend of growth, marking the fourth consecutive year of increased participation. This rise follows the implementation of enhanced premium tax credits, a key provision of the American Rescue Plan passed in 2021, which have significantly reduced the cost of insurance for many consumers. California’s unique Cost-Sharing Reduction (CSR) program, launched in 2023, has also played a crucial role in driving enrollment.

Governor Gavin Newsom hailed the achievement as a sign of California's ongoing commitment to expanding access to affordable healthcare. “The tremendous success during this open enrollment is the payoff from the work California has done for years to maximize the Affordable Care Act,” Newsom said. “California’s uninsured rate has continued to drop as Covered California has made it easier for consumers to find quality coverage at an affordable price.”

Indeed, Covered California's latest numbers come on the heels of a notable milestone: California’s uninsured rate reached a historic low of 6.4 percent in 2023, according to federal data. Since the marketplace's inception in 2014, California's uninsured rate has dropped by more than 10 percentage points, the largest decrease of any state during the era of the Affordable Care Act. Currently, over 6.3 million Californians have enrolled in marketplace plans at some point since the program began.

Jessica Altman, Executive Director of Covered California, expressed pride in the program’s success. "Covered California continues to fulfill the promise of the Affordable Care Act, ensuring that more Californians have access to affordable health insurance than ever before,” she said. “Thanks to both federal enhancements and state-specific programs like California's CSR, we’ve made health coverage more accessible for our residents."

However, Altman also warned that the future of these gains could be in jeopardy if Congress and the White House do not act. The enhanced federal subsidies, which have played a critical role in keeping premiums affordable, are set to expire at the end of 2025. If not renewed, many consumers could see significant increases in their monthly premium payments. On average, consumers are saving $101 per month due to these subsidies, with some middle-income enrollees receiving as much as $395 a month in assistance.

For now, California’s success with Covered California stands as a beacon of progress in the fight for affordable healthcare. But with the expiration of key subsidies on the horizon, the future of the state’s marketplace—and the affordability of health insurance for millions of Californians—remains uncertain.