tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-96665392010-01-28T22:01:01.896-08:00Bruce Juganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04956218935618977755noreply@blogger.comBlogger60125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9666539.post-49670443946463192522009-11-06T16:37:00.000-08:002009-11-09T10:53:45.526-08:00

California health insurance companies are welcoming the second decade of the 21st Century with huge rate increases for small employers (2-50 employees). The largest rate increases are on the HSA (Health Savings Account) compatible plans. For their part, the health insurance companies blame the increases in the HSA plans on:1) Increased utilization - meaning that many people are using a lot of

Bruce Juganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04956218935618977755noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9666539.post-34090483579886126052009-07-30T13:51:00.000-07:002009-10-22T14:39:27.199-07:00

Aetna announced that on August 7, 2009 they will send a notice to former employees of their small business clients, terminated from employment between September 1, 2008 and May 10, 2009, advising them that they may be eligible for the Federal Subsidy for COBRA continuation of their health insurance. Aetna is using the California Department of Managed Health Care's model COBRA Subsidy Notice as

Bruce Juganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04956218935618977755noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9666539.post-11710139249723315002009-07-19T22:54:00.000-07:002009-07-19T23:36:31.457-07:00

In the California small group health insurance market Health Net's HMO plans are always well priced. Effective August 1, 2009 for groups located in Los Angeles their Elect Open Access HMO plan will be 5 percent less expensive than the Health Net Standard Option HMO. The Standard and the Elect Open Access (EOA) plans have exactly the same benefits in terms of doctor office visit charges,

Bruce Juganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04956218935618977755noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9666539.post-24956268150743587572009-06-23T16:58:00.001-07:002009-10-22T14:46:38.728-07:00

With summer and graduation upon us, we wanted to help people understand issues related to college health insurance. Incoming freshmen have different concerns than recent grads; who have different needs than graduate students and we've written an article for each situation. Parents of these students will also find these articles helpful. In addition, we've written an introduction to health

Bruce Juganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04956218935618977755noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9666539.post-60304444364999583122009-06-11T14:01:00.000-07:002009-06-11T16:29:39.962-07:00

Anthem Blue Cross of California announced that they will be making major changes to their small group health insurance plans effective July 1, 2009. Specifically, they will be adding 14 new plans. Beginning January 1, 2010, Anthem Blue Cross will discontinue 9 plans. Anthem calls their entire portfolio of small business medical plans Employee Elect with additional portfolios referred to as

Bruce Juganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04956218935618977755noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9666539.post-84412472736502771692009-06-02T21:15:00.000-07:002009-06-04T17:12:59.231-07:00

July 1, 2009 - Blue Shield of California is introducing two new, innovative individual and family health insurance plans that are Health Savings Account (HSA) compatible. The truly innovative feature of these plans is that they offer enrollees an opportunity to also enroll in a "rider" (extra feature at an additional cost) that will pay them money should they have a qualifying stay in the

Bruce Juganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04956218935618977755noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9666539.post-39855469643606416292009-06-02T19:03:00.000-07:002009-06-02T21:14:43.184-07:00

Blue Shield of California has announced that they will raise rates on many of their individual and family plans effective July 1, 2009. The rate increases state-wide range from +7% for the Vital Shield plans; +14-15% for the Balance Plans; and a whopping +23-24% for the Essential 1750 plan. These are state-wide averages and some people could experience larger increases. The Essential 1750 has

Bruce Juganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04956218935618977755noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9666539.post-20618569241847171682009-05-31T22:38:00.001-07:002009-05-31T23:24:04.123-07:00

Many people ask "why is health insurance so expensive?" The obvious answer is that medical care is expensive. Then, why is medical care so expensive? Dr. Atul Gawande has written a seminal piece in the New Yorker that answers this vexing question. The article, entitled, The Cost Conundrum, explores why the per-capita cost of medical care is nearly the highest in the United States in McAllen,

Bruce Juganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04956218935618977755noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9666539.post-22879079901633474082009-05-31T22:31:00.001-07:002009-05-31T22:37:36.041-07:00

Tomorrow, June 1, 2009, Senator Kennedy is supposed to release the report of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pension (HELP) Committee's recommendations for comprehensive reform of the health care & health insurance system. Word has it that the Obama administration wants to pass health insurance reform legislation in 90 days. That does not give people much time to evaluate these

Bruce Juganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04956218935618977755noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9666539.post-74100998370508151902009-03-31T22:56:00.000-07:002009-03-31T23:30:57.156-07:00

Wellpoint, the largest health insurance company in the United States, and parent company of Anthem Blue Cross of California, is partnering with the XPrize to develop a solution to the problem of ever-increasing medical costs; rising numbers of uninsured people; and medical providers claiming to receive too little payment. The Health Care X Prize will develop criteria to evaluate solutions to

Bruce Juganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04956218935618977755noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9666539.post-46679331861774935282009-03-23T09:26:00.000-07:002009-03-23T10:00:27.138-07:00

In the debate and discussion of methods of financing high quality medical care is the daunting challenge of the ever-rising cost of care. While some may blame the insurance companies for excessive rate increases, the reality is that no matter who pays for medical care, be it insurance companies with private or commercial clients; government or taxpayers with Medicare, Medicaid (Medi-Cal in

Bruce Juganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04956218935618977755noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9666539.post-32781037382590659002009-03-17T22:56:00.000-07:002009-03-17T23:38:00.804-07:00

I heard Angela Braly, President and CEO of Wellpoint (parent of Anthem Blue Cross of California) speak today at the Town Hall in down town Los Angeles. Wellpoint provides health insurance to 35 million Americans - 1 in 9 people - and has $60 Billion in annual revenue. It is the largest health insurance company in the U.S. Accordingly, I thought that it would be helpful to report what she said.

Bruce Juganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04956218935618977755noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9666539.post-52062336553498903962009-03-06T22:36:00.000-08:002009-03-07T00:19:29.157-08:00

"Medicare for all" has become a frequent refrain from health care advocates. This sound bite statement implies that the U.S. would be better off if all citizens were covered under the government-run Medicare program. Currently, eligibility for Medicare is limited to those age 65 and over; some age pre-65 with certain disabilities; and people with End-Stage Renal Disease. With this post I would

Bruce Juganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04956218935618977755noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9666539.post-1500063498292413442009-03-02T22:47:00.000-08:002009-03-04T19:18:19.720-08:00

If you were recently laid off or fired and you are considering whether to enroll in COBRA you're in luck. On February 17th, President Obama signed the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (HR 1) which mandates that employers pay 65% of the COBRA premium for "involuntarily terminated" employees. This new, temporary law applies to people involuntarily terminated from their jobs between

Bruce Juganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04956218935618977755noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9666539.post-17193989109871728502009-03-02T22:23:00.001-08:002009-03-02T22:43:49.878-08:00

If you're an employer with 20 or more employees and you're wondering how to comply with the COBRA subsidy in the Obama Stimulus Plan, here's some helpful information. On February 17th, President Obama signed the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (HR 1) to help stimulate the US economy. A major component of this new law created temporary changes in COBRA and the employer’s obligation

Bruce Juganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04956218935618977755noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9666539.post-33564375098461432152009-02-19T14:23:00.004-08:002009-03-30T10:39:02.107-07:00

With this video I tried to combine all of the aspects of the previous videos and to show people how to compare two different health insurance plans. I created the "Health Insurance Comparison Chart" many years ago and I have found that it helps to focus on the most important aspects of a medical insurance plan. Because there are so many features in a health insurance plan such as the cost of

Bruce Juganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04956218935618977755noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9666539.post-82268130972786061382009-02-19T14:23:00.003-08:002009-03-30T10:38:36.495-07:00

Trying to explain complicated terms like "out of pocket limit" "deductible" and "co-insurance" in less than 2.5 minutes is difficult. I thought that the image of someone really hurting himself by diving into a swimming pool was a good way to convey the importance of the protection that health insurance provides when catastrophy strikes. I have seen many instances where health insurance

Bruce Juganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04956218935618977755noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9666539.post-6193414044546617452009-02-19T14:23:00.001-08:002009-03-30T10:39:20.188-07:00

I've found that many people aren't exactly sure what an HMO and PPO are. With this video I wanted to show how they work and what the differences are. I have used the graphics in this video for many years when I sit down with business owners or individuals and we discuss health insurance options. I've found that it helps when people see the how the patient (you) fits in with the doctor or

Bruce Juganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04956218935618977755noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9666539.post-27447020599847675302009-02-19T14:22:00.004-08:002009-03-30T10:39:38.574-07:00

How a health insurance plan pays for prescription medicine (Rx) is important. Unfortunately, standard descriptions rely on a lot of technical terms. With this video I wanted to make those terms understandable in a graphic or visual way.

Bruce Juganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04956218935618977755noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9666539.post-31278578469718873302009-02-19T14:22:00.003-08:002009-03-30T10:39:55.916-07:00

One of the best benefits of a health insurance plan is the discount you get from in-network doctors and hospitals. It is often overlooked when people select a health insurance plan because the selection criteria shown are benefits and monthly price (or premium.) Many people forget to consider which doctors and hospitals will give them discounts on a particular plan. In this video I want to

Bruce Juganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04956218935618977755noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9666539.post-76565135527538030712009-02-19T14:22:00.001-08:002009-03-30T10:40:14.830-07:00

With this video I want to help people understand the differences between the health insurance companies. I also want to let people know that there are some really good protections for people with individual and small group health insurance in California. The current system is far from perfect, but there are some very good aspects of our system. A lot of people are not aware of the low cost of

Bruce Juganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04956218935618977755noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9666539.post-85440736232532201242009-02-19T14:21:00.001-08:002009-03-30T10:40:31.787-07:00

Share this video:

Bruce Juganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04956218935618977755noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9666539.post-14592980766830413422009-02-13T13:13:00.000-08:002009-02-19T14:50:35.996-08:00

The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (HR 1) includes subsidies for health insurance for people who recently lost their jobs. Those eligible will only have to pay 35 percent of the cost of health insurance under COBRA. The subsidy will last for 9 months. People who have missed the 60 day period to elect COBRA will be given another 60 days from the date the bill is enacted to elect

Bruce Juganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04956218935618977755noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9666539.post-65503608056012452402008-06-02T23:31:00.000-07:002008-10-23T15:00:35.863-07:00

For individuals looking for a low cost health plan which protects you from major medical events such as hospitalization, Blue Shield of California's Vital Shield 2900 may be the plan for you.Vital Shield 2900, Blue Shield's lowest-priced PPO with monthly rates starting as low as $42, offers not only affordable coverage, but as part of one of California's largest PPO provider networks, makes

Bruce Juganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04956218935618977755noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9666539.post-27499255139038813302008-03-14T16:51:00.000-07:002008-10-23T13:49:29.814-07:00

Blue Cross of California, soon to be renamed “Anthem Blue Cross” has released their small group “focal renewal” information and the rate increases seem pretty high. The focal renewal applies to small businesses in California (2-50 employees) who have had continuous coverage with Anthem Blue Cross since December 1, 2003. The rate increase will impact all Anthem Blue Cross (of California) small

Bruce Juganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04956218935618977755noreply@blogger.com0