Exchange Releases Treatment Data

Californians who obtained coverage from the state health insurance exchange are receiving needed healthcare services.

That's according to Covered California, which released a report on Wednesday detailing services its enrollees have obtained at more than 100 of the state's hospitals during the first 18 months insurance purchased from the exchange was in effect.

According to the report, there were 69,000 visits of Covered California enrollees to emergency rooms; 10,753 enrollees treated for cancer; 4,807 babies delivered (including 369 receiving treatment in neonatal intensive care units); 692 joint replacements and 89 organ and bone marrow transplants.

The numbers cover about one-third of the acute care hospitals operating statewide, but include large tertiary medical centers such as the hospitals operated by the University of 

California and Kaiser Permanente facilities in both Los Angeles and the San Francisco Bay area. 

“These data give an even fuller picture of the care being delivered across our state and bring home the fact that, while healthcare is local, when something really bad happens, you want to be able to get to the best facility possible," said Covered California Executive Director Peter V. Lee.

"We are proud to be the largest provider of cancer care for these patients among the medical centers surveyed and glad that UCSF is able to provide high-quality care to patients who otherwise might not have been diagnosed or treated,” said Sam Hawgood, chancellor of the University of California at San Francisco, which includes the UCSF Healthcare campus.

Open enrollment through the exchange for 2016 ends on Jan. 31.