I try to be pretty pragmatic when it comes to presidential elections. Regardless of the promises made by any candidate, we rarely see any real change in the U.S. with the election of a new president. However, Donald Trump ran on a platform to repeal and replace Obamacare. Since 90% of my income comes from enrollment generated by the Affordable Care Act, I am facing a drastic reduction of my income if Trump fulfills his promise.
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Price Transparency: A Prescription For Lowering Health Insurance Rates
The one aspect of health insurance that the Affordable Care Act did not address is the cost of health care services. Without a governor on the prices that doctors and hospitals can charge, the health insurance companies must constantly increase their rates to cover the cost of health care expenses that seem to rise faster than the national average for inflation. One way to reign in the ever increasing costs of health care is by providing consumer information on the cost of health care services through price transparency. The Health Care Transparency Project has started an online petition to request the Trump administration implement price transparency for consumers.
Repealing Obamacare And The Fate Of One Health Insurance Agent
For the first time in my life I can commiserate with people who are losing their livelihood because of a government action. Just as some workers have been displaced because the government outlawed a product, changed an environmental regulation, or enacted a trade deal that smothered their industry, I too am on the receiving end of government legislation that will decimate my income. If Obamacare is repealed and the subsidies that make health insurance affordable for millions of Americans ceases, I will lose 90% of my clients.
Cigna Cuts All Agent Commissions to 0% for 2017
Cigna notified their appointed health insurance agents at the end of September that they will not pay any commissions in California for individual and family plans. In other words, or symbols, Cigna has given the middle finger to agents who assist consumers with enrollment into their health plans.
Aetna chooses welfare over work
The big headline in August was that Aetna would not be expanding their Obamacare individual and family plans in 2017. The smaller headline from a week earlier was that Aetna was seeking approval to become a Medi-Cal manage care health insurance provider in California. Just like other health insurance companies have found, welfare pays better than work when it comes to health insurance.
Doctors use bait and switch tactics with health insurance networks
The narrow doctor networks of California’s individual and family health insurance plans are actually smaller than first thought as doctors use a bait and switch tactic to lure in patients and then bill for their services with “out-of-network” providers. The health insurance companies have little control over this practice that has a doctor listed as in-network for their health plan, but the services are actually billed by a facility that is out-of-network. This bait and switch tactic, aided and abetted by confusing online provider search tools and opaque billing statements and codes, leaves consumers paying more for health care services than they should.
Vision Insurance
Vision Plans Individual and family vision insurance can be purchased at anytime and is not subject to open enrollment periods like group plans. Before you purchase vision insurance for children consult your medical insurance plan for pediatric vision coverage. Many health plans, including individual and family plans purchased through Covered California, include excellent visions benefits […]
Medi-Cal Estate Recovery and IRS 1095-B confusion
The implementation of Obamacare requires it to be administered by a variety of federal, state, and local government bureaucracies. Many consumers have been caught in a swirl of seemingly conflicting and utterly confusing rules, advice, and government forms. This cauldron of Obamacare confusion is particularly acute among individuals over 55 years old who are subject to California’s Medi-Cal Estate Recovery program. The anxiety instilled in this population is compounded by conflicting IRS 1095 forms that seem to open the door to a large tax bill for the repayment of the premium subsidies they received during the year.
Comparing the cost of Short Term Medical plans
Short term medical plans are a less than perfect bridge for individuals and families in between credible minimal essential health insurance coverage. Even though short term medical plans can deny applicants for pre-existing conditions, charge more for being a female, and have caps on how much the plan will pay, they can be a solid backstop to ridiculous emergency room bills. The rates for short term medical plans will usually be in the neighborhood of a California Bronze individual and family PPO health plan.
The secrecy of Negotiated Rates and Allowable Amounts
While the Affordable Care Act has brought transparency for consumers to compare health insurance plans, it has failed to lift the veil of secrecy surrounding how much health care services actually cost. This is particularly important for consumers who have high deductible PPO Bronze plans who would like to learn the health plan’s negotiated rate for a health care procedure.