In the race to sign up new customers on the Covered California health insurance exchange, Anthem Blue Cross has emerged as the winner with more than 30 percent of the market. The Thousand Oaks insurer, a unit of WellPoint Inc. in Indianapolis, signed up 425,058 people, or 30.5 percent of all policies sold on the exchange, according to data from Covered California through April 15. Blue Shield of California placed second with 381,457 polices or a 27.3 percent market share, while Health Net Inc. of Woodland Hills was third with 264,079 policies, or 18.9 percent. Overall, nearly 1.4 million people have purchased insurance plans on Covered California, with 88 percent of those eligible for federal subsidies to pay for their insurance. Insurance agents signed up 39 percent of policyholders, while 41 percent self-enrolled on the exchange’s website. People also purchased policies through county offices and enrollment events. The exchange’s open enrollment period originally was scheduled to end March 31, but the state extended the deadline to April 15. More than 200,000 people signed up during the extension period, including 50,000 on the final day. “Bringing health insurance and health care to so many Californians is a big achievement,” Peter Lee, Covered California executive director, said in a statement. “This is only the beginning of a long road of expanding affordable coverage to all Californians.”
