The best way to ring in 2019 is by getting the peace of mind that comes with having health insurance for you and your family.

Open enrollment for Covered California runs through Jan. 15, with coverage that begins on Feb. 1. California’s health insurance marketplace continues to deliver on the promises of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, with 11 insurers serving Covered California consumers all over the state — 96 percent of whom are able to choose from two insurers or more, while 82 percent of have three or more choices.

“There has been so much noise — and at times, plain disinformation — around the Affordable Care Act in the past year, but the important thing for consumers to know is that Covered California’s open enrollment will go through Jan. 15,” Executive Director Peter V. Lee said. “You still have time to sign up and get quality and affordable coverage throughout 2019.”

Covered California and its community partners are more determined than ever to get people signed up for coverage to get the care they need and deserve. More than 3.5 million consumers have been enrolled through Covered California at one time or another since 2014. About 1.3 million consumers were enrolled in 2018, with nine out of 10 getting financial assistance to help them pay for coverage. In fact, Covered California has helped cut the state’s uninsured rate to a historic low of 6.8 percent.

An estimated 1.1 million uninsured Californians are eligible to enroll in Covered California, and new research shows that 82 percent of uninsured consumers surveyed, who are eligible for financial assistance, do not know that they qualify for subsidies that can help bring that life-saving coverage within reach.

Covered California is the only place you can go to find out if you are eligible for financial help that lowers the price of your coverage. The average member pays $5 a day for health insurance, with many paying much less. Go to CoveredCA.com to see if you qualify for financial help. It’s easy: Just click on the button that says “Shop and Compare” and enter your ZIP code, your household income, the number of people who need insurance and their ages.

If you checked whether you qualified for financial help before, check again. It only takes a few minutes, and you could end up discovering that you qualify for premium assistance that helps consumers save an average of 80 percent off their monthly costs.

This coverage has helped save lives and protected consumers from financial devastation from medical bills that reach tens of thousands, and in some cases, millions of dollars. We all know people who have lived without insurance or gone without adequate health care for too long. It doesn’t have to be that way. Help is out there, and now is the time to sign up for life-changing care.

You can get free and confidential enrollment assistance by visiting www.coveredca.com/find-help/ and searching among 700 storefronts statewide and the more than 16,000 certified enrollers who can assist consumers in multiple languages. In addition, consumers can reach the Covered California service center by calling (800) 300-1506.

Life can change in an instant; be covered when it does.