A Progress Report on Online Enrollment for Children and Pregnant Women, One Year In

Mathematica recently published a report, with support from the California HealthCare Foundation and the David and Lucile Packard Foundation, on the Health-e-App Public Access (HeA PA). The report titled "A Progress Report on Online Enrollment for Children and Pregnant Women, One Year In" examines the impact of the online enrollment route four children and pregnant women, while providing demographic data.

Since December 2010, Californians have been able to apply online for Healthy Families and the Medi-Cal Program for Children and Pregnant Women through HeA PA.  This provides individuals, who previously could only apply with the help of certified application assistants, a more convenient method for accessing public insurance.           

The findings from this report include: 

• In the first year, HeA PA usage was steady at approximately 4,000 applications per month, despite no marketing campaign at its launch.
• Use of HeA PA was associated with a 14% increase in total applications submitted to the state processing center from 2010 to 2011. The 2011 growth in total applications appears entirely attributable to the availability of the site.
• Most people who used HeA PA were female, had household incomes at or below 200% of the federal poverty level, and completed the application in English.
• In the five counties with the greatest population and the most applications overall, the share of applications submitted through HeA PA ranged from 12% (Orange County) to 19% (Los Angeles County) to nearly 33% (San Diego, Riverside, and San Bernardino Counties).
• Sixty-four percent of HeA PA applications were submitted with all required documentation. This rate is lower than that for assisted online applications (79%) but higher than that for paper (61%).

To access the report click here.