Covered California marketplace plans, employer-sponsored group coverage from level-funded to ICHRA, and Medi-Cal context — all under one CDI-licensed platform with broker-of-record support across all 58 counties.
Benefitra is the parent platform for benefits brokerage, HR SaaS, marketing, and decision-support tools. California employers can adopt one pillar or stack them.
Seven funding paths: fully-insured, level-funded, self-funded, ICHRA, PEO-integrated, captive, Taft-Hartley.
Compare paths →Lead-engine and rankings for growing employers. Page-2-to-page-1 in months.
See trajectories →California health plans give consumers and employers more options for dependable health insurance coverage. These options match different budgets and needs.
Individual and family plans. California operates its own state-based exchange — Covered California — the first SBE in the country, launched in 2014. Plans are ACA-compliant qualified health plans regulated by the California Department of Insurance (CDI) and the Department of Managed Health Care (DMHC). Coverage varies by household income, county of residence, and plan year — Covered California offers enhanced state subsidies on top of federal premium tax credits.
Qualified health plans and subsidies. Covered California plans cover the federal essential health benefits plus state-added benefits. Most California enrollees qualify for federal premium tax credits, and many also qualify for enhanced state-funded subsidies passed under AB 174 that close the affordability gap above 400% FPL. Open enrollment runs Nov 1 – Jan 31, longer than the federal window. Special enrollment periods apply to qualifying life events.
Medi-Cal: California's Medicaid. Medi-Cal is administered by the California Department of Health Care Services (DHCS) and covers about 14 million Californians — roughly one in three residents. California fully expanded Medicaid under the ACA effective January 1, 2014, raising the income limit for adults to 138% of the federal poverty level. California has since extended Medi-Cal eligibility to all income-eligible adults regardless of immigration status (full-scope, effective 2024).
Employer group plans in California. California employers with 1 or more employees can offer group health insurance year-round (California guarantees small-group access at 1+ employees, more generous than the federal 2+ standard). Mid-market employers across the Los Angeles, San Francisco Bay Area, and San Diego metros increasingly use level-funded, self-funded, or ICHRA designs to control renewals in a high-cost state. Benefitra's Funding-Fit Discovery models the math across all seven arrangements.
Sam worked with our California team to reduce health costs by nearly 50% without raising deductibles or limiting the network. He was always willing to take a call.
Without changing payroll or going through underwriting, we saved over 50% while upgrading to a PPO. The savings funded dental, vision, and a new full-time hire.
The Benefitra plan lowered my family's premium substantially while improving coverage. Friends and family have since joined the plan too.
Marketplace, Medicaid, group plans, and ICHRA. Common California-specific questions for families and employers.
Answer twelve short questions. We grade your fit across the seven funding arrangements — fully-insured, level-funded, self-funded, captive, ICHRA, PEO-integrated, and Taft-Hartley.
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