“The BIG, hugely impactful decision Covered California, DOI and DMHC must make is: must an insurance company consider an employee enrolled in an individual health insurance plan.. to have a valid “waiver”. or [is it] a “declination” of group coverage.”
Waive or Decline – A Huge Difference for California Small Group Health Insurance Plans under Health Care Reform(ACA)
January 28th, 2013Covered California Health Exchange Releases 2013 Report
January 11th, 2013Covered California, the new name for the California Health Benefit Exchange, has just released a report on its activities. Addressed to the Governor and Legislature, the report describes the reasons for creating the exchange and the progress in that effort. The report states that the high cost of medical insurance is the most commonly reported reason for lack [...]
New Trend in Health Insurance: Hospitals and Medical Groups Becoming Insurers
January 8th, 2013Sutter Health, a large medical group and hospital chain in Northern California, has applied to become an HMO/insurance company. According to this article, Sutter Health submitted its application to the California Department of Managed Care (DMHC) in August 2012. The article reports that DMHC has seen a significant increase in the number of applications to establish new HMO plans saying that “the agency [...]
Is it possible to provide high quality medical care at a low cost?
December 21st, 2012Everyone is concerned about the ever-rising cost of medical care and health insurance premiums. In this newsletter, we give links to a PBS documentary, podcasts from This American Life, and articles from The New Yorker that describe health care systems that provide high quality medical care at low cost. It is VERY encouraging. Click here [...]
UHC Estimates Premium Increases as High as 116% in 2014 from Health Care Reform (ACA)
December 6th, 2012United Health Care (UHC), the largest health insurance company in the US, yesterday held a webinar for agents on changes they will be making to their products to comply with the Affordable Care Act (ACA). This is the first time that I have seen a major carrier give specific cost increase estimates for medical insurance [...]
Health Insurance Reform (ACA) Update – November 2012
November 26th, 2012I’ve written 4 articles on the Affordable Care Act (ACA) in the newsletter section of BenefitsCafe.com. The articles will help employers and individuals who purchase their own coverage understand a few aspects of the law. The articles include: Five Things Everyone Needs to Know about Health Care Reform (ACA) Five Things Employers Need to Know about Health [...]
California Health Benefit Exchange has a New Name: Covered California
November 2nd, 2012The State of California is hard at work to create the first government-run entity to sell health insurance as required by the Affordable Care Act (ACA). Since first created, the entity has been called the “California Health Benefit Exchange” (HBEX). The government felt that name was a mouthful so they hired a marketing firm, Ogilvey PR, to develop a catchier one.
Click here to find out what the new name is and how the new name was chosen.
Blue Shield of CA to give Small Groups 18% Refund September 2012
August 30th, 2012Blue Cross of California has announced that they will issue all of their small group clients (i.e., employers with 2-50 employees) a one-time credit of 18% of the monthly health insurance premium. The credit will be based on active enrollment in the Blue Shield plan on July 31, 2012 and it will apply to the September 2012 bill.
Click for more details and resources about the Blue Shield credit.
MLR Rebates: Employers Must Share with Employees
March 22nd, 2012California medical insurance companies may soon refund money to their customers because of the minimum “Medical Loss Ratio” requirements of the new Federal Health Insurance Law, PPACA. Insurance companies have notified employers that they must return a portion of the refund to their employees.
Click for an article on the new minimum Medical Loss Ratio requirements.
Medical Insurance Reform Update: March 2012
March 22nd, 2012To mark the two year anniversary of President Obama’s signing of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act we’ve written a summary of the most important changes that impact individuals and small businesses who purchase medical insurance.
Click through for an accounting of the changes that have occurred since 2010 and changes planned for 2014.
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