Medical Care Insights and Information

Trends in medical insurance. Keep up to date on the latest changes in medical care. BenefitsCafe provides news and updates on medical care.

2023 Jun 01

Consumer Advocacy for Small Business Medical Insurance with the California Senate and Assembly

By |June 1st, 2023 |Categories: Changes in Medical Care|Tags: , , , , , |

On May 10, 2023, I flew to Sacramento, California and joined other insurance professionals for a day at the Capitol, which included meeting with elected officials and discussing issues of importance to small and mid-sized employers that offer group medical, dental, vision and other types of insurance coverage to [...]

2020 Dec 07

Walmart Health: a New Approach to Health Care

By |December 7th, 2020 |Categories: Changes in Medical Care, Health Care Costs, Health Insurance Reform, Large Group Medical Insurance Articles, Small Group Health Insurance|

Walmart has taken a big step towards fixing the “broken” U.S. health Care system by creating Walmart Health.  These are clinics that offer primary medical care, mental health counseling, X-rays, labs, dental services, and vision and hearing services at one location.   As of December 2020 Walmart has 14 health clinics.  [...]

2020 Nov 19

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 [...]

2016 Oct 05

California Small Business Medical Insurance 2016 4th Qtr. Renewals

By |October 5th, 2016 |Categories: Small Group Health Insurance, Changes in Medical Care, Health Insurance Reform, Small Business Articles|

Experts estimate that 50 to 70 percent of the small businesses in California that offer employee medical insurance will renew their plans in December 2016.  Many California small business medical insurance companies have begun to release their renewal rates for December 2016 and for many employers the renewal rates look [...]

2014 Oct 08

Vivity: the new hope for health care

By |October 8th, 2014 |Categories: ACA, Changes in Medical Care, Large Group Medical Insurance Articles, Small Business Articles|

Right before my eyes I saw the top executives from the top hospitals with the top executive from the top insurance company pledge to offer high quality medical care at lower cost. They described how they have aligned incentives for everyone to provide top patient care. If they can do that cost-effectively, they will share in the savings. If not, they will collectively share in the loss...This is a game-changer for health insurance.

2011 May 02

California Pre-Existing Condition Insurance Plan (PCIP) vs. California Major Risk Medical Insurance Plan (MRMIP)

By |May 2nd, 2011 |Categories: ACA, Changes in Medical Care|

The California Pre-Existing Condition Insurance Plan (PCIP) was set up under the new Federal health insurance reform law (PPACA). It’s supposed to go until 1/1/2014 at which time there will be no medical underwriting and all insurance companies must take everyone without regard to pre-existing medical conditions – i.e., you can transition to a standard plan. For someone close to age 65, enrolling on this plan would take him/her until he/she is eligible for Medicare which is currently "Guarantee Issue." Read about eligibility and cost of the PCIP based on our analysis of this government program.

2010 Oct 18

Guaranteed Health Insurance for Children in California

By |October 18th, 2010 |Categories: Changes in Medical Care, Children's Health|

One provision of the new Federal health insurance reform law (PPACA) that became effective on September 23, 2010 was the requirement that all health insurance companies approve children under age 19 without regard for health status. While the new law requires insurance companies to sell coverage there is no requirement for parents to buy health insurance for their children. Fearing "adverse selection" where people would wait until they got to the hospital to sign up for coverage then cancel it after they received treatment (like buying fire insurance when your house is on fire) virtually all of the insurance companies refused to sell children only health insurance. In response, Governor Schwarzenegger signed AB 2244 into law September 20, 2010. This new law requires all California health insurance companies to offer children only individual policies on a "guarantee issue' (GI) basis beginning January 1, 2011. Failure to comply will cause the California health insurance company to be banned from selling individual health insurance plans for 5 years. This penalty is so sever that it forces insurance companies to either accept all children under these conditions, or go out of business. Read more about AB 2244 requirements and the law surrounding guaranteed health insurance for children in California.

2009 Jul 30

Aetna to Send COBRA Subsidy Notices

By |July 30th, 2009 |Categories: Changes in Medical Care, COBRA|Tags: |

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. [...]

Go to Top