Open enrollment underway for Covered California

SAN FRANCISCO (KGO) -- Enrollment is now underway for Covered California.

As the San Francisco Chronicle reports, the health insurance exchange, which began five years ago, faces ample challenges, specifically from The Trump Administration.

The exchange, where Californians can get brand-name health insurance under the Affordable Care Act, is in part targeted by the president's efforts to dismantle key pieces of Obamacare.

"This year's open-enrollment period is more crucial than ever before," Peter V. Lee, executive director of Covered California, said in a press release. "Back and forth in Congress has left many people confused about the future of health insurance marketplaces."

Covered California is the state's health insurance marketplace, and, according to the Chronicle, is the largest in the nation with 1.3 million California residents insured by plans bought through the exchange.

Enrollment ends Jan. 31, 2018.