User:Dit011/sandbox

Coverage Levels
There are four different options. Each option will determine how much a consumer will pay.
 * Bronze level: On average, the health plan pays 60% of covered health-care costs; the consumer pay 40%.


 * Silver level: On average, the health plan pays 70% of covered health-care costs; the consumer pay 30%.
 * Gold level: On average, the health plan pays 80% of covered health-care costs; the consumer pay 20%.
 * Platinum level: On average, the health plan pays 90% of covered health-care costs; the consumer pay 10%.


 * Minimum coverage plan (worst case scenario): If the consumer is under 30 and cannot afford the other plans, this is another option. It covers three visits with no out-of-pocket costs and free preventative benefits. The services will cost full price until the consumer spends $7,150. At that point, the services are covered completely by the health plan.

Essential Health Benefits
Since Covered California is a part of the Affordable Care Act, there are some essential health benefits that the insurance companies must offer to consumers. This is a list of a few services :
 * Ambulatory services
 * Emergency/urgent care
 * Hospital care services
 * Maternity and newborn care
 * Mental health and substance abuse services
 * Prescription medication
 * Rehabilitation services
 * Laboratory services
 * Preventative and wellness care
 * Pediatric services

=== Dental Care === This is not required in the health plan. All Covered California health insurance plans provide pediatric dental care. Adults have the option of choosing supplemental dental care services in their plan.

=== Vision Care === This is not required in the health plan. Covered California provides vision care for children, but does not offer any for adults. However, Covered California will work with certain companies to offer vision care directly to the adults.

Governance, staff, and budget
(Update to the budget)

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has cut Covered California's marketing funds. In 2016, Covered California spent $122 million on marketing. In 2017, it spent $99 million. The cut in funds has caused a discrepancy. Some believe that the amount of money spent on marketing is justifiable because the Trump administration has decreased funding for the Affordable Care Act. Covered California claims that the marketing funds will raise awareness and increase the number of healthy consumers. By increasing the number of healthy consumers, the premiums will be lower for everyone. Thus, the insurance companies are proposing a marketing budget of $111 million for 2017-2018. On the other hand, some are claiming that these advertisements are unnecessary because it does not guarantee that more people will enroll.

The fiscal year 2015-2016 was the last year that Covered California used federal establishment funds. The government extended funding for that year and gave approximately $100 million. After that year, Covered California has gradually reduced expenses to save their funds. In 2015, it proposed a budget of $332.9 million, leaving $194 million in reserve funding. The actual budget adopted was approximately $335 million. In 2016, the proposed budget was $308 million, which was $28 million less than the year before. The actual budget adopted was $320.9 million. For the fiscal year of 2017-2018, the proposed budget is $313.9 million.