Inland residents flock to Obamacare

The Inland Empire appears to like the Affordable Care Act.

With two weeks left in the current enrollment period, the number of local residents signing up for the federal healthcare program is up 21 percent compared with the last open-enrollment period, according to a report in The Press-Enterprise.

Officials with Covered California – the state exchange that administers the program – will spend the next two weeks helping more uninsured people find a program before the Feb. 15 deadline.

The exchange was formed after the Affordable Care Act – better known as Obamacare – became law in 2010. That program, which is still being implemented, requires everyone to carry some healthcare insurance or be fined.

During the current enrollment period, about 14,500 Riverside County residents and 12,200 San Bernardino County residents have signed up for plans. Statewide, more than 273,000 people signed up for coverage during the same period, the report stated.

Final results from the current enrollment period won’t be known for several months.

Covered California, with the help of several partners, has set up about 500 small offices throughout the state to help people with the signing-up process.

When enrollment started last year, about two million people statewide – including 320,000 Inland Empire residents – were eligible for some form of coverage under the Affordable Care Act, according to the report.