Readers React: Covered California isn’t collaborating with Prop. 45 foes

To the editor: Jamie Court does a disservice to Californians considering the benefits of enrolling for coverage in Covered California’s upcoming open enrollment. (“Why California needs Prop. 45,” Op-Ed, Oct. 7)

Covered California has indeed begun running ads that showcase real people who obtained health coverage because we are beginning the process of renewing our members and preparing for open enrollment starting Nov. 15. We also made the decision early on to pull those ads in the weeks leading to the election because the cost of advertising is high, which we will do starting Oct. 20. We will be back with far more advertising starting Nov. 5. Court’s allegation that Covered California “collaborated” with the insurance industries’ advertising in opposition to Proposition 45 is untrue.

Court also implies that our having staff and consultants who have worked at insurance companies in some way means we don’t put consumers first. The opposite is true. Just as California’s regulators have staff who used to work with health plans, Covered California has hired people who can go toe-to-toe with health plans to represent consumers’ interests. Their expertise has been vital to starting up one of the most successful health exchanges in the nation.

Court’s allegations should not discourage consumers from getting their coverage through Covered California.

Peter Lee, Sacramento

Lee is executive director of Covered California.

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