Affordable Care Act for California. Latest news and updates for ACA medical insurance for businesses and individuals

19 11, 2020

Amazon Opens Neighborhood Health Center

By |November 19th, 2020 |Categories: ACA, Changes in Medical Care, Health Care Costs, Health Insurance Reform,, Small Group Health Insurance, Trends|

Employee Medical Clinic As a sign of change in medical care delivery, Amazon has opened its first health care clinic for its employees in Dallas, Texas.  According to the Amazon announcement, “Amazon expects to establish 20 health centers in five cities across the U.S., improving access and care [...]

26 07, 2019

Update: UnitedHealth Care Postpones Rollout of New Association Health Plans in California

By |July 26th, 2019 |Categories: ACA, Association Health Plans, Covered California, Small Business Articles, Small Group Health Insurance|

Less than two weeks ago, I wrote a blog post that predicted that fireworks would hit California’s small group health insurance market with UHC’s new Association Health Plans.   Well,  sparks flew.  Yesterday, UnitedHealth Care announced that because of “regulatory inquiries over the past couple of weeks” UHC has suspended [...]

8 07, 2019

Fireworks Will Hit California’s Small Group Health Insurance Market with UHC’s New Association Plans

By |July 8th, 2019 |Categories: ACA, Association Health Plans, Small Group Health Insurance, Trends|

  UnitedHealth Care (UHC) kicked-off Summer 2019 with a bang.  During a webinar to their top brokers on July 1st, they made the game-changing announcement that they will introduce 9 new Association Health Plans (AHP) into the California small group marketplace (1-100 employees.) By screening enrollees for pre-existing medical [...]

12 04, 2019

Why Kaiser Permanente Small Group Benefits and Rates Continue to Lead the Field in California, 2019

By |April 12th, 2019 |Categories: Large Group Medical Insurance Articles, ACA, Health Care Costs, Health Insurance Reform,, Small Business Articles, Small Group Health Insurance|

On Wednesday, I was fortunate to be included in a round table discussion with the senior leadership of Kaiser Permanente's small group sales and account management team. To encourage discussion, Kaiser limited participation to a few key brokers. (2019 Kaiser Key Broker Engagement Luncheon, Pasadena, California. Third from [...]

7 10, 2016

Can an employer contribute different amounts towards employee medical insurance?

By |October 7th, 2016 |Categories: ACA, Large Group Medical Insurance Articles, Small Group Health Insurance|

NOTE: The answer to this question requires compliance with both the HIPAA Nondiscrimination Requirements and the IRS Section 125 Nondiscrimination Rules.  IRS Nondiscrimination Rules apply when employees make pre-tax paycheck contributions for employee benefits using a Section 125 Premium Only Plan (POP). If you are a client of Benefits [...]

2 09, 2015

Need health insurance outside of the open enrollment period – consider the California Major Risk Plan (MRMIP)

By |September 2nd, 2015 |Categories: Individual Medical Insurance Articles, ACA, Covered California, Health Benefit Exchange|

If you didn't sign up for individual health insurance in California during the open enrollment period, you're not stuck.  A little known state program, Major Risk Medical Insurance Plan (MRMIP), may be your saving grace.  While no insurance company will offer you coverage outside of the open enrollment period unless [...]

19 01, 2015

Do Employers Need to Give Employees IRS Form 1095-C in 2014 for Health Insurance Coverage in 2014?

By |January 19th, 2015 |Categories: ACA, Health Insurance Reform,, Large Group Medical Insurance Articles|

The good news is that in July, 2013 the IRS issued Notice 2013-45 which gave large employers “transitional relief” from the “shared responsibility” penalties.... Accordingly, neither the reporting requirements nor the employer shared responsibility provisions apply for 2014.

25 11, 2014

Group Health Insurance Rates Increase for 2015

By |November 25th, 2014 |Categories: ACA, Health Insurance Reform,, Large Group Medical Insurance Articles, Small Business Articles|

Last week the Los Angeles Times reported that large employers estimate that the cost of group health insurance will increase about 5% in 2015. I was quoted in the last two paragraphs of the article, talking about the 2015 rate increases for California small businesses. We've seen rates increase from a few percent to twenty percent depending on the characteristics of the employees. While there are winners and losers among California employers; we have been able to change our clients to different insurance companies and different plans so that in most cases they won't have any increase and many of our clients will pay less for group health insurance in 2015 than they did in 2014.

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