Covered California hosted another webinar to provide a progress update of the California Healthcare Eligibility, Enrollment and Retention System (CalHEERS) website. In short, this is the website Californians will use to enroll in one of the qualified health plans offered in their area through Covered California.
Archives for June 2013
California PCIP Transitions to Federal Administration
People who have Pre-Existing Condition Insurance Plans (PCIP) through the California PCIP are being transitioned to a federal administrator of the program July 1. Letters have been sent out to members enrolled in the PCIP program directing them to send their next payment to the National Finance Center.
Emergency Regulations Ensures Competitive Health Insurance Market in California
The emergency regulations force all “non-grandfathered” plans to include the 10 EHBs which means that plans offered through Covered California won’t be put at a substantial competitive disadvantage. Plans not offering all the benefits would have been priced lower than plans in the state exchange. While health insurance plans offered outside the Covered California may still be less expensive for a variety of reasons, at least they will have equivalent benefit designs.
Comparing Delta Tunnels to Deep Water Shipping Channel
The Sacramento Deep Water Shipping Channel is similar in dimensions to the Delta Cross Canal. Its overall length makes it comparable to a Peripheral Canal and the construction on par with the the tunnels. The Port of Sacramento, with the necessary deep water shipping channel, turned out to be a colossal waste of tax payer money. Instead of acquiring more private land for the tunnel project, the state should figure out some way to use the deep water shipping channel easements and land.
Sacramento Pride Parade features Religious Pride
Sacramento’s Pride Festival for 2013 was kicked off by a colorful parade down N Street. In addition to the local contingent of LGBTQI support and commercial services participating in the parade, Sacramento’s religious organizations were well represented. If it hadn’t been for the prominent display of rainbow balloons and flags surrounding the various churches and temples in the parade, I would have thought I was in the Bible Belt.
Income and Family are top questions in Covered California Live Chat
California residents were invited to ask questions about the new Covered California health plans in a live chat held through Facebook this past Thursday. Ken Wood, Senior Advisor for Products, Marketing and Health Plan Relationships for Covered California, answered 47 questions over 90 minutes. While fourteen of the questions dealt with different aspects of the health plans being offered, the bulk of the questions focused on income requirements for the tax credits and coverage options for different family scenarios.
Insurance Commissioner Jones calls for ban on Blue Cross from Covered California
While the filed rate increases of Anthem Blue Cross may be unreasonable that hardly justifies their being banned from the Covered California small employer group program. There is also the prospect that Anthem Blue Cross might be forecasting a sharp drop in membership of their small group plans as small businesses abandon the plans or employees leave to purchase subsidized health insurance through Covered California.
Health Net rebates .3% to California group plans
Health Net announced that under the Affordable Care Act Medical Loss Ratio requirements they would be issuing a rebate of .3% to their small groups in California based on 2012 expenditures. The letters dated May 30, 2013 are being sent to the small group administrators and subscribers.
Trails to Rails: Rush Ranch and Western Railway Museum
The new age of electricity ushered in the mass transit possibility of street cars. Even today the sight of an electric trolley car rolling down the tracks in this sparsely populated portion of California looks out of place. But the scenery of wheat fields, cattle and sheep grazing has changed little since the first trolley line rolled through the Montezuma Hills.
Assister Enrollment Entity Website for Covered California
Before Covered California can really get the IPA training going, they have to have the Assister Enrollment Entities (AEE) in place. The AEEs can be a variety of organizations that have the interest and resources to reach out to targeted populations to help enroll individuals into Covered California health plans. These might be nonprofit groups that serve specific ethnic or cultural populations, social service organizations or trade groups.