Responding to a state senator’s call for an investigation into the marketing budget of California’s Obamacare exchange, the agency says it is in great financial shape and even received high marks for an audit conducted last year.
“By 2015/16, we project a reserve of over $184 million,” Covered California spokesperson Anne Gonzales told CalWatchdog.com. “We are putting aside a healthy amount of federal grant money and plan to draw on our reserves until our enrollment starts generating income.”
But GOP state Sen. Ted Gaines, R-El Dorado Hills, who is vice chairman of the Senate Standing Committee on Insurance, said the agency will be $78 million in the red during the next fiscal year. He was incensed to learn that Covered California spent $1.37 million on an advertising campaign featuring a lurid Richard Simmons web stream that is now on YouTube.
Gaines learned about how much the “Tell a Friend, Get Covered” campaign cost from a Jan. 30 CalWatchdog.com article and then demanded an audit of Covered California on same day. He had initially asked for the financial information in a letter to Covered California Director Peter Lee, but it had gone unanswered when the article appeared.
Democratic bill
Covered California’s detractors aren’t limited to the Republicans. Late Monday, state Sen. Norma J. Torres, D-Chino, introduced Senate Bill 972, aimed at fixing “problems experienced by consumers” – lackluster customer service, a low Latino sign-up rate and inaccuracies in the provider directory, a press release stated.
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