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 [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
How a health insurance plan pays for prescription medicine (Rx) is important. Unfortunately, standard descriptions rely on a lot of technical terms. Four words you'll need to know in order to understand your health insurance's prescription benefits: Brand, Generic, Formulary, and Deductible. With this video I wanted to make [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
Buying health insurance online is confusing. First you see the names of a bunch of insurance companies. Are Blue Shield and Blue Cross the same company, or are they different? Next, you see strange terms like "deductible" and "OOP." Even if you knew that OOP means "out of pocket" [...]
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 [...]
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. [...]