More than half of California's uninsured qualify for assistance

Nearly half of the uninsured nationwide and 53 percent of California's uninsured qualify either for Medicaid coverage or for health insurance premium assistance available under the Affordable Care Act, according to a national study released Tuesday.

The study of U.S. Census data by the Kaiser Family Foundation (not affiliated with Kaiser Permanente) finds 15.7 million uninsured Americans.

Statewide, more than 2 million of the state's 3.8 million uninsured qualify for one of the two programs, analysts found.

In California, 37 percent of the assistance-eligible uninsured - or more than 1.4 million low-income people - qualify for Medi-Cal, the state's Medicaid program.

Additionally, it finds, another 623,000 middle-income Californians qualify for tax subsidies under the Affordable Care Act that can be used to offset monthly insurance premiums.

Among the factors keeping the uninsured from seeking health coverage, the study cites confusion surrounding how one qualifies for assistance and misperceptions about the cost of insurance.

"What’s needed to reach the remaining uninsured is intensive outreach and education and in many cases one-on-one assistance to help people understand the options available to them," says study co-author Larry Levitt, a Kaiser Family Foundation senior vice president.

Researchers say, also, that of the almost 1.8 million uninsured Californians who don't qualify for either program, more than half - 922,000 -  are ineligible due to their immigration status. The rest are ineligible either because they turned down employer-based insurance or because they earn too much money to qualify for tax credits.

The findings are based on data from the 2015 Current Population Survey Annual Social and Economic Supplement. 

The third open enrollment period under the Affordable Care Act begins Nov. 1 and lasts through Jan. 31, 2016.