Covered California Open Enrollment 2018

Covered California open enrollment for policy renewals is beginning October 11, and new rates will be available same day. Overall, the process and coverage is going to be very similar to what you’ve experienced with prior renewals, however there are a couple important changes I want to make you aware of:

Rates are increasing for most plans, like they do every year. EMost plans should be seeing adjustments in line, or slightly more, than in years past. One exception is if you have any children under 19 enrolled in Covered California (does not apply to Medi-Cal) on your account. Currently, all children under 19 are charged the same rate regardless of age. On Dec. 31. a provision in the ACA is expiring, and each age will now have their own set of rates. Some of you will see a decrease specifically for your child, and some of you may see a significant increase.

Kaiser Permanente is looking to be a very strong option in Santa Cruz county going forward. They have facilities in Santa Cruz, Watsonville, and Scotts Valley, and are aggressively expanding in the area. Some of their plans are nearly 50% less expensive than the Blue Shield and Healthnet equivalent. Kaiser is an HMO, which may mean you’ll need to select a new primary case physician.

Lastly, Anthem is not going to offer individual plans in Santa Cruz County in 2018. If you have an Anthem plan, you’ll need to select a new insurance company.

Update 08/12/17: Silver tier plan rates will be increasing more than other tiers, due to the executive order signed by the president to remove cost-share subsidies.

Covered California

Important Covered California Information and Dates for 2015

Open enrollment for Covered CA health insurance is starting on Nov. 15, so in anticipation we wanted to get out new information and important dates for new and renewing families. If you’re currently enrolled you can go online and process your renewal now (the system is currently experiencing an error though. *See below). Please pay attention to any mail you get from your insurance carrier and CoveredCA over the next couple months, as they have important info..

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Covered California

Anthem CoveredCA Plans Not In Sutter & PAMF Physician Network For 2014

On Monday 12/16/13 PAMF announced that they’ve declined contracts to be included in Anthem PPO plans offered through Covered Ca.. They will continue to be in network for many of Anthem’s “off-exchange” plans, written directly through Anthem.

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Physician

What’s the Difference Between PPO and EPO Health Insurance?

In the CoveredCA plan options you may have noticed that Blue Shield is offering an EPO plan that looks similar in coverage to Anthem Blue Cross’ PPO plan, but is less expensive. So what’s the difference? Simply put if you see a physician in Anthem or Blue Shield’s networks, the plans will function similarly. If you see someone outside the network then there is a huge difference.

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Healthcare Gov

What Are Your Healthcare Insurance Options If You Don’t Want A Health Exchange Plan?

The upcoming California Healthcare Exchange is going to have some great health insurance options for many people, but it won’t be the best option for everyone. Fortunately, you’re not required to purchase a plan from the Exchange; there will be 5 options.

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Physician

Important Upcoming Dates For Healthcare Changes

One of the big changes with the upcoming California Health Reform are there will be defined enrollment dates and cutoffs. You will no longer be able to change plans or purchase new coverage whenever you want. Starting October 1, 2013, there will be an initial enrollment window that lasts until March 31, 2014. If you miss the window you need to wait until the following year to make changes or purchase coverage. Here are the big dates for the first year:

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Healthcare Gov

California Health Exchange Tax Credits & Cost Sharing Subsidies

There are 2 different portions of government assistance in the California Health Exchange; a tax credit, and a cost sharing subsidy. In general, only median and lower income families will qualify for either of these.

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Physician

California Healthcare Reform Basics

Beginning October 1, 2013, California will begin enrolling applicants into the new California Health Insurance Exchange that will officially start on January 1, 2014. Many of the details are still not concrete, so certain aspects may change. The overall structure is set though, and today we’ll be passing on some of the basics of individual and family plans (we’ll cover group plans in the coming weeks).

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