IMK - Page 55 of 166 - Kevin Knauss: Health, History, Travel, Insurance

Artificially Inflating Covered California Silver Plan Rates May Cause Chaos

June 19, 2017 By Kevin Knauss 9 Comments

But how does an enrolled individual in a standard Silver 70 plan, who is not eligible for the CSRs, feel about subsidizing lower income plan members? Could the argument be made that some individuals are paying an inflated premium, close to a Gold plan, but only receiving Silver plan level benefits? At a very minimum, the inflated Silver plan rates are a distortion of the health insurance market place. One of the goals of the ACA and the exchanges like Covered California was to bring more transparency and accountability to the health plan selection process for consumers. If the inflated Silver plan rates, along with artificially inflated subsidies, do become a reality, the market place for health insurance will take a step backwards as plan selection becomes more confusing for consumers.

1952 U.S. Army Corp of Engineers Map and Inventory Of The North Fork Ditch

June 17, 2017 By Kevin Knauss Leave a Comment

By the time of the Army Corp report conducted its inventory most of the North Fork Ditch had been lined with concrete. Many of the appurtenances were also concrete such as wasteways, intake structures and sluice gates. Of the 37 flumes, 32 were constructed of timber and only 5 were metal. The timber flume construction allowed them to be built with small changes or bends in the direction to navigate around boulders and hillsides. The metal flumes, by contrast, were best adapted to spanning a small ravine in a straight line.

Feds Seek To Weaken Obamacare Further With Open Public Comments

June 9, 2017 By Kevin Knauss 2 Comments

The RFI is not a serious attempt at gathering comments on how to stabilize the health insurance markets across the country. Trump and Price have already set in motion the slow dismantling of regulations that kept the ACA markets relatively stable. This is a thinly veiled attempt to generate regulation gutting suggestions that will further destroy meaningful health insurance for Americans. I can guarantee that any real suggestions that would work to contain health care costs, which are the real driver of ever escalating health insurance premiums, will be ignored.

Why I oppose SB 562 California Single Payer Plan

June 7, 2017 By Kevin Knauss 2 Comments

First, let me clear that I support the concept of a single payer plan for health insurance coverage. It has worked relatively well for Medicare beneficiaries and a similar concept could be mirrored nationwide. However, proponents of Senate Bill 562, the single payer legislation, are long on promises and short on details. If we have learned anything from the launch of Covered California to serve as the market place for ACA health insurance it is that the best laid plans are far harder to execute than anyone could imagine.

Navigating The Medicare Maze Of Options

June 7, 2017 By Kevin Knauss 7 Comments

This high level overview and will not address every situation that a Medicare beneficiary may find them self in. This short primer is meant help you understand the different parts of Medicare and how they work, or don’t work, together. The following information can also be found in the Medicare and You Handbook.

Kidnap, Ransom, Extortion, Illegal Detention Insurance For USA and Foreign Travel

May 31, 2017 By Kevin Knauss Leave a Comment

All of these events can cause a financial loss to families and companies. Sometimes the monetary loss is the ransom paid. Other times it is the loss of wages, productivity, and property or from the action of a threat. Events such as illegal detention can cause a loss. For example, a same-sex married couple travels to another country where being gay is a crime. A gay person may be detained just for unwittingly informing someone of their sexual orientation. The insurance would then be triggered under the illegal detention provision and resources would be devoted to extricating the person or family from the country where they are being detained.

Covered California, The Marketing Arm Of Health Insurance Companies

May 26, 2017 By Kevin Knauss Leave a Comment

In a certain sense, Covered California is no different than any other agent trying to enroll consumers and earn a monthly commission. I suppose there are other industries that must spend 1/3 of their forecasted revenue on marketing just to maintain their sales, but the percentage seems excessive on the face of it. You have to wonder how sustainable a business model is if spending 33% of the budget on marketing is necessary for survival. It also raises the question of if the exchange based model is the most efficient means of qualifying consumers for the Premium Tax Credit and distributing the subsidy.

California Central Railroad: Folsom To Roseville

May 25, 2017 By Kevin Knauss 2 Comments

While SVRR was planning the extension, Charles Lincoln Wilson incorporated a new company called the California Central Railroad in 1857 with Theodore Judah as Chief Engineer and Wilson as the appointed contractor. I have found no actual map filed, thus far, with the state by the California Central Railroad, but it’s probably floating around someplace. However, in 1864, the Central Pacific Railroad filed a map of their lower division from Sacramento to Auburn. On it the CCRR is depicted in the relative alignment indicated by the SVRR extension map.

Native American Presence Before Folsom Lake

May 23, 2017 By Kevin Knauss Leave a Comment

There is no record of when the last Native American camp ceased to exist in the Folsom Lake region. Many historians note that by 1853, most of the Native American population had dispersed, move south, died in conflicts with immigrant settlers, or died of disease. But there is no doubt that there was a thriving Native American population and culture along the north and south forks of the American River. Where Native Americans once ground acorns, skinned deer, or fashioned tools from local rocks, Folsom Lake visitors now fish, hike, ride horses, bikes, and have picnics.

Blue Cross and Blue Shield BlueCard Out-of-Area Benefits

May 22, 2017 By Kevin Knauss Leave a Comment

If you are going to be spending an extended period of time outside of your plan area, for work, vacation, or going to college, carefully review your plan’s Evidence of Coverage to make sure the BlueCard Program is part of the covered benefits. I was surprised to learn that both Blue Cross and Blue Shield HMO plans included the BlueCard Program for 2017.

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