​Shana Alex Charles, director of the Center's Health Insurance Studies Program, is the author of a new fact sheet on health insurance in California prior to the implementation of the Affordable Care Act. In this brief interview, Charles takes a look back at health coverage in 2013 compared to 2014, why demand seemed to dip in California in 2015, and who benefits from the recent extension of the enrollment period.

Q: Your latest fact sheet is a look back. What are we happy about that we see in the rearview mirror?

​What's behind us is that nearly 6.5 million Californians didn't have health insurance at some time during the past year in 2013, and we're glad to see that fade into the distance. Looking ahead, we know that Covered California has enrolled nearly 1.5 million people in private coverage and 2 million more in Medi-Cal since then, so the road ahead is looking bright.

Q: The 2015 enrollment didn't hit its projected target goal of 1.7 million by Feb. 15, but 1.4 million enrolled. Does that say the demand for affordable health coverage is declining?

​There's still some confusion and trepidation about signing up, but the demand is still there for affordable, high-quality health insurance. People faced glitches in the system. Others were unsure whether they qualified for subsidies because they didn't have changes in their income or tax status. And some people just delay. There's still a large group who would love to enroll, but can't: undocumented immigrants.

Q: Covered California just added a "special enrollment period," extending sign-ups to April 30. Who is likely to take advantage of that?

​Those who say they were unaware of the tax penalty for being uninsured in 2014 will have a chance to avoid the penalty for their 2015 taxes. Also, Covered California is trying to encourage those who think paying a penalty is "smarter" than having health coverage to sign up ― why pay a fee to the government and get nothing in return when you can invest in getting health insurance coverage?