Kevin Knauss: Health, History, Travel, Insurance
Posts related to health insurance plans offered by Anthem Blue Cross in California for individuals, families, small groups, Medicare, Medi-Cal.
It’s hard to compare the plans side by side because of the diversity populations they serve and lack of data on some of the health insurance companies. Much of the information about the different health plans and companies is spread out over several different agencies, reports and websites.
Only two plans, Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield of California will be available in all the 19 regions in California. All of the regions will have at least 3 health insurance plans to choose from. Many of the plans are region specific to areas such as San Diego, Los Angeles and the San Francisco Bay area. In addition, some of the plans have concentrated primarily in Medi-Cal and Medicare market and this will be their first push into the individual market.
The larger point of Anthem’s discussion is that rising health care costs have several roots. There is no one culprit that is driving costs.
It was an urgent plea by an insurance company that I had to act now to save Medicare Advantage Plans.
The Health Action Network website is a sham and Wellpoint, Inc. should be ashamed of surreptitiously promoting it to Anthem Blue Cross members.
I now know that I have been having outbreaks of the shingles on my legs these past couple of years.
Health insurers cloak their opposition in the form of membership and donations to organizations that appear to be consumer friendly but advocate for changes in the ACA that will benefit the insurance companies.
Telehealth or consulting with patients with non-medical emergencies over the phone or internet is gaining steam to save time and money.
While there is no doubt that healthcare costs are escalating, there may be other reasons beyond pure inflation that is driving Anthem and other carriers to seek rate increases.
