HEALTH INSURANCE ASSISTANCE
Our primary goal of increasing access to healthcare insurance within the unhoused community is accomplished through becoming Certified Enrollment Counselors (CECs) through Covered California. The entity through which we operate is the California Physicians Alliance and they oversee our enrollment activities. We are able to troubleshoot any issues with current health insurance or assist in the enrollment process through Covered California. Currently, we have a team of 19 CECs who are all UCLA undergraduates/graduates.
IN-PERSON ENROLLMENT ASSISTANCE
We host in-person enrollment fairs weekly at different sites around LA. Our enrollment fairs take place at shelters, clinics and other community sites. CECs work one-on-one with clients to resolve any issues relating to their health insurance, or provide direct enrollment assistance through the Covered California application. Typically, clients that we work with fall under Medi-Cal eligibility, but we are able to assist with other health insurance plans under Covered California as well. Whether or not we are able to successfully enroll an individual is variable, as typically a valid government ID and SSN is needed to apply for health insurance through Covered California. There are exceptions and individuals may still be eligible for some form of Medi-Cal if they do not have one of these items. Navigating health insurance can be daunting, but our CECs are here as a free resource for the LA community.
IN-PERSON ENROLLMENT SITES
Currently, our CECs can be found at the following sites:
-
Skid Row Community Refresh Spot (every 1st and 3rd Saturday of the month)
-
Mobile Clinic Project (every 2nd Sunday of the month)
-
Alexandria House
-
SOS Initiative
REMOTE ENROLLMENT ASSISTANCE
Outside of in-person assistance, we are also a remote resource for the community. Anyone can send us an email at projectluxcec@gmail.com with any questions they may have regarding their health insurance, or set up a phone appointment with one of our CECs. This resource is used in conjunction with in-person enrollment fairs. For example, if an individual that we assist comes across another issue later on such as not receiving their insurance card, we can keep in touch and ensure they are able to acquire it.