It\’s late 2012 and we\’re getting scattered information on what will ultimately be the major health insurance marketplace for individual, families, and small companies in California. The Exchange now with the newly anointed name Covered California which points to it\’s stated goal of enrolling almost all Californians on a health insurance plan. Many people we […]

Why Does the Silver Exchange Plan Matter? Jan 1st 2014 will mark the era of the Metallics. It\’s not some futuristic forecast of shiny doom but a reflection of the new Exchange health plans that will be available to everyone effective as of that date. There is a Platinum, Gold, Silver, and Bronze option available […]

Doctor Network Changes under California health reform A seldom discussed topic regarding the effects of California health reform is that on doctor or provider networks. Granted, much of how this all play out is conjecture at this point but we need to think out the most probably outcomes and the doctor networks will figure heavily […]

Okay..in fairness, we tried to make the title sound technocratic but it\’s only because we\’re reading health reform rules these days and those pages upon pages might as well be written in Klingon. The 3 to 1 rule is very important since it\’s a big part of why many people California health insurance rates will […]

Health Reform Penalties So yesterday, we wrote about the carrot for purchasing California health insurance through the Exchanges. Now, let\’s talk about the stick…the Penalty for not purchasing health insurance. Part of health reform mandates the purchase of health insurance for most people and it creates both subsidies to help purchase it for those individuals […]

There\’s a new term going around at the carrier level as they\’re preparing for Jan 1st 2014 Health Exchange plans to come online. Rate Shock. Yes, it is as bad as it sounds. Needless to say, this refers to the health insurance rates we\’ll pay in California for individual/family and small business coverage. Let\’s look […]

The mechanics of the generic but very large \”health reform\” bill is starting to come to light. The first big implementation of the bill is the California health insurance Exchange (called Covered California) which will offer various plans to individuals, families, and small business. A large number of people will sign up for Exchange plans […]

Small Group Moving to Individual California Health Insurance There\’s a big question yet to be answered on whether employers will just pay a penalty rather than provide group health insurance once the Exchange plans are in full force. This a great question and it\’s still hard to figure out which way the market will go. […]

Many individual and family members of Anthem California health insurance are receiving bad news in the mail these days regarding a rate increase effective 2/1/2012 on most plans (not Medicare). The increase is averaging around 20% with highs up to 25% which is a big hit. Let\’s dig a little deeper and take a look […]

It\’s difficult to get excited about California health insurance but the closest we can come is regarding the Advantage PPO plans for Health Net. On the individual and family market, Health Net changed their plan make-up in 2012 and they have been very popular ever since with a combination of the commonly the lowest cost […]