Thoughts of Kevin Knauss

Posts by Kevin Knauss on a variety of topics: health insurance, history, hiking, politics, LGBTQ+, railroads, plus whatever piques my interest.

Inequity Continues at Covered California with No Deductible Health Plans

July 30, 2023 By Kevin Knauss Leave a Comment

Is it equitable that a married couple with substantial savings and high net worth receive significant health cost savings while a similar married couple with no savings but slightly higher income is subjected to higher health care costs? No, it is not equitable. It is a government program that is missing the mark on equity. Stated another way, the reduced cost sharing and no deductible health plans are not fair because the household income does not reflect the real financial state of the individual or family.

Can’t Find A Doctor? Look at Low Star Rated Docs

July 27, 2023 By Kevin Knauss Leave a Comment

The common complaint from my clients in 2023 is that they can’t find a doctor. I am in the crowd who couldn’t find a Primary Care Provider to figuratively save my life. I changed my focus from certain preferences to reviewing low star rated doctors. With the switch, I found a good, competent Primary Care Provider.

2024 Covered California Health Insurance Rate Increase Marketing

July 25, 2023 By Kevin Knauss Leave a Comment

However, if you are in a region where Aetna CVS Health is the second lowest cost Silver plan, you may see a dramatic premium increase. This is because the Aetna CVS Health is slated to increase approximately 0.2 percent. This means that the subsidy with the Aetna CVS Health second lowest cost Silver plan will only slightly increase for 2024 over 2023. If you have the Blue Shield PPO with a 15 percent increase in that region, your 2024 subsidy will not change by much and you may be paying a considerably higher amount for your health insurance if you keep the Blue Shield plan.

Erasing the N-word from historical references

July 16, 2023 By Kevin Knauss Leave a Comment

It was wrong for government employees to use the n-word on official maps. Those people perverted history by inserting their bias against Black men and women. I’m not sure why the public display of the n-word was left in the exhibit that I visited. Perhaps, it was an oversight. I hope it was not a rationalization that the handwritten note of the n-word on the map was somehow historic in nature. While racism is historically significant, as historians we do not have to promote it in a public exhibit.

No Gap or Short-Term Health Insurance in California

July 13, 2023 By Kevin Knauss Leave a Comment

Loss of coverage is a Qualifying Life Event for a Special Enrollment Period into an individual and family plan. The problem for many people is the timing of the enrollment and the effective date of coverage. You must apply for an individual and family plan in the month prior to the effective date. Individual and family plans – in most instances – always become effective on the 1st of the month. There is no retroactive effective date offered.

Why Your Covered California Health Insurance Subsidy Dramatically Drops with an Income Increase

June 28, 2023 By Kevin Knauss Leave a Comment

When the income estimate was increased in their Covered California application, the subsidy was properly calculated for the remainder of the plan year. The first thing Sandi and Thom notice is that they lost the Silver 87 plan and with the higher income are now only offered a Silver 70. Another disturbing problem for them is that instead of $336.57 monthly premium, their new premium for the Silver 70 is $657.31. They went from paying $16 a month for a great Silver 87 plan to $658 per month for Silver plan that has higher copays, coinsurance, and deductibles.

When You MUST Repay Medi-Cal For Health Care Services

June 26, 2023 By Kevin Knauss Leave a Comment

State and federal law require Medi-Cal to seek the reimbursement for health care services from any settlement that results from a personal injury or accident paid by a third-party such as an insurance company that covered the responsible party for liability.

Chinese, Europeans Dominate Mining on American River in 1860

June 23, 2023 By Kevin Knauss Leave a Comment

The mining industry was dominated by Chinse men. Of the 2,655 men claiming to be miners, 48 percent were from China. Men who came from a European country comprised 29 percent of the miners and 21 percent were born in the United States. Of the European miners, 304 listed a birth as Ireland, 141 from the United Kingdom, 99 from Portugal, 81 from regions within Germany, and 79 men of French birth.

Salmon Falls Mining District Census for 1860

June 9, 2023 By Kevin Knauss Leave a Comment

The Salmon Falls census tract included the region known as Negro Hill. However, there were very few men or women of color recorded by the census taker in 1860. I’ve transcribed the census pages for 6 other townships in Sacramento and Placer counties for 1860 and this is the first instance I’ve come across where the census recorder listed a person’s color as mulatto. Clearly, the mulatto color designation is subjective relative to the census recorder. In the Salmon Falls census there are 19 persons listed as Black and 12 as mulatto. Of the mulatto individuals, 6 were children all under the age of 6, all born in California.

Fixing the Medicare Leaky Roof of Health Care Costs

June 4, 2023 By Kevin Knauss Leave a Comment

Medicare Advantage plans, that cannot be paired with a Medicare Supplement plan, is another way to divert much of the storm of health care costs to the gutters and downspouts. The Medicare Advantage plans usually have the Part D drug plan embedded within the total package. There will still be some leaks from copayments and coinsurance with the Medicare Advantage plans.

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Thoughts of Kevin Knauss