Kevin Knauss: Health, History, Travel, Insurance
Posts related to health insurance for individuals, families, small groups, enrollment, eligibility in California, plans, coverage, benefits.
The health insurance rate regulating Proposition 45 on the November ballot is relatively simple in that it attempts to curb excessive premium increases by health insurance companies by allowing the Insurance Commission to deny any rate he or she deems as being unreasonable high. California, on the other hand, has developed a complex review process for rate […]
Insurance agents are uniting to bash and defeat Prop. 45, the California ballot initiative that would give the Insurance Commission the power to deny excessive health insurance premium rate increases. The latest campaign rhetoric by agents makes Prop. 45 sound worse than the Affordable Care Act. This organized opposition to Prop. 45 only serves to […]
At the September Covered California Board meeting the members voted to adopt voter registration regulations that will mandate that Certified Enrollment Counselors (CEC) and Certified Insurance Agents (CIA) offer voter registration assistance to individuals that are applying for health insurance through the state exchange. In essence, CECs and CIA will now be doing volunteer work […]
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid released their reimbursements rates for Medicare Advantage plans by each county in the United States. Commonly known as the capitation rate, the table shows what Medicare pays to a private Medicare Advantage plan each month for each beneficiary enrolled in the health plan. The lowest reimbursement is in San […]
Covered California and the IRS have been encouraging individuals and families that have purchased health insurance through the state or federal exchange to update their household income whenever there is a change. The simple act of reporting this change of income through Covered California is considered a qualifying event for a Special Enrollment Period. Once […]
In the proposed rate increase filing with California Department of Managed Health Care (DMHC) on August 1, 2014, Anthem Blue Cross included 79 health plans that they would be terminating at the end of year. Titled Exhibit P – Terminated Plans, effective 2015, Anthem Blue Cross lists 39 pre-ACA and 40 post-ACA individual and family […]
Anthem Blue Cross announced that they were temporarily revising some of their health insurance guidelines for residents in Napa, Solano and Sonoma counties impacted by the Napa earthquake. Important for Anthem Blue Cross members in these counties is that they can see any physician for necessary health care, urgent care and emergency room services even […]
How health insurance companies and health plans determine premium rate increases is a little bit of a mystery. Covered California didn’t add to the consumer’s understanding of this process when they released their 2015 health insurance booklet. The plan rates booklet is mostly marketing material and fails to provide specific rates by region, carrier, and […]
In a presentation by Executive Director Peter Lee to the Board of Covered California on the potential effects of the health insurance rate regulation proposal to go before California voters in November, known as Prop. 45, it was clear the passage of the California Department of Insurance supported proposition could present significant challenges to the […]
A significant change to the plan types offered for individuals and families through Covered California for 2015 will be Health Net dropping their Preferred Provider Organization (PPO) plans. In place of the PPO health plans, Health Net will offer Exclusive Provider Organization (EPO) health plans. This change may be particularly significant for members who relied on […]
