On January 1, 2014, 6 million Californians who have been unable to get health insurance either because they work for a small company, are  self-employed or have pre-existing conditions, will finally be eligible to get insured through Covered California. And 2 million will qualify for subsidies when the health insurance exchange opens in September. Coverage starts in January, when ACA goes fully into effect. California is off to a healthy start because—unlike states where political leaders actively opposed ACA–it has been preparing for this day. In fact, it’s being emulated as a national model. But it still has a long way to go according to a report by New American Media.