ABOUT ME
Hey there! I'm Ariana: an attorney, a Covered California Certified Agent, and a believer that healthcare access is a social justice issue. Covered California, Medi-Cal, and Medicare are mind-bendingly complicated, and no one should have to navigate them alone. Since 2015, my team and I have guided thousands of Californians through the maze, and we'd be delighted to help you too.
HOW IT STARTED
I grew up in Santa Barbara, went to Vassar College, and then earned my law degree and MBA at UC Davis. While I was waiting on my bar exam results, I landed a job at Nickelodeon Animation Studios, working on my favorite TV show. (Yes, really. Ask me about it!) When the show wrapped, I wanted my next project to help people more directly than making cartoons, so I took a job with the Solar Community Housing Association, the nonprofit behind Davis's cooperative houses.
That's where I was working when the Affordable Care Act first passed. I'm good with paperwork, so I got licensed to do enrollments, figuring I'd help a few people in my immediate community. Then my info got loose in the wider Bay Area co-op community, and soon my cell phone was ringing with strangers who needed health insurance. Before long I had to leave my day job and focus full-time on healthcare access.
WHAT IT'S LIKE TO WORK WITH US
When you reach out, you'll talk to a friendly, real person, not a phone tree or an AI system. We work by phone with clients anywhere in California. We help you figure out whether you qualify for financial assistance and which plan fits your needs, then we take care of the paperwork. Once you're enrolled, we stay in your corner for ongoing questions with Covered California and your insurance company.
Our help is free to you. If we help you onto a plan that's right for you, the insurance company you choose pays us a commission, at no extra cost to you. Many of our clients are low-income and I love not having to ask for anything. My agents are paid by the hour, so no one on my team is incentivized to steer you toward any particular plan or outcome.
WHY I DO THIS
I believe healthcare is a human right, and the system in this country is failing too many people. It's complicated, and I do my best to guide people through it so they can get the care they deserve. We all give back to our communities in the ways we know how. Mine is taking the healthcare paperwork off your plate, so you can focus on whatever you're doing to make the world a little better.
GIVING BACK
Community is still central to how I work. I spent many years living in cooperative households, from a student co-op at Vassar to co-ops in Davis and Hollywood (including one I founded myself). I was also a longtime resident of Mount Madonna Center, an intentional community and retreat center in Watsonville, where I now serve on the Board of Directors. These days I'm still deeply involved with the Davis co-op community through the Solar Community Housing Association, where I help lead the alumni and fundraising efforts. Living cooperatively taught me that we're all stronger when we look out for each other, and that's how I run Ask Ariana.