Covered California sent a letter to everyone that has a PPO plan and told them that their insurance company would assign them to a Physician on January 1st 2017 as part of a new feature.

Is this a “feature” to you?

Read this article to learn about what’s happening.Read More →

california health insurance rate increases 2017

Learn What Steps You Need To Take To Minimize The Increases Covered California just announced health insurance rates are rising in 2017. This is not just a Covered California issue. If you get your insurance directly from an insurance company you will see your rates rise as well. It has never been more important to understand the steps you need to take to keep your costs down. We’ll show you what the California health insurance rate increases are going to look like. Then we’ll show you what steps you can take to make sure that your 2017 rates don’t skyrocket. Quick Overview Of 2017 CaliforniaRead More →

cigna health insurance california 2015

  In 2013, Cigna Health Insurance enabled you to sign up for their non-Obamacare plans and avoid having to sign up for a Health Care Reform health insurance plan until 2015. This was a great strategy to keep your health insurance costs lower in 2014. Unfortunately, we are nearing the end of 2014, and your Cigna health insurance plan is ending December 31. Here’s the best alternative health plans to replace your Cigna coverage. Where do you go to get answers? How do you make the decision? Which is the right plan for you? The answer to those questions are based on three specific things.Read More →

United HealthGroup Leaves California

  The second domino in a linked chain has tipped over. Two weeks ago Aetna announced its departure from California’s individual and family health insurance market, and yesterday UnitedHealth Group, Inc (parent of UnitedHealthcare) announced that UnitedHealthcare (UHC) is leaving California. With UnitedHealthcare leaving California, about 8,000 members will need to get new health insurance before December 31st, when their UHC coverage ends. In this article, we’ll show you the best replacement health insurance plans from the remaining California insurance companies. In California, UHC provided individual health insurance through their Golden Rule subsidiary using the brand name UnitedHealthOne. Golden Rule was created by UHC overRead More →

This information is outdated now. SEE THE NEW Obamacare MATERNITY INFORMATION HERE. It’s the beginning of the New Year, 2013, and many changes are going to happen this year. The first of the changes involves the maternity plans in California. When getting maternity insurance, California mothers want to be able to minimize the costs of the pregnancy and the delivery. But mothers also want to be able to see the doctor they are comfortable with. So most mothers-to-be will select a PPO plan before they get pregnant. At SPF Insurance, we specialize in maternity coverage, so we spend a great deal of time analyzing allRead More →

Prior to July 1st 2012, Cigna did not offer any maternity insurance plans in California, and their plans were not competitive.  On July 1st they added maternity and autism care to all existing plans and made slight pricing adjustments to position their plans to gain market share in the California marketplace. The Cigna portfolio of health insurance plans is simple to understand, and is composed of only 3 plan families.  The plans are mainly targeting the middle and upper benefit levels, and the pricing is competitive for people age 35 and higher.  Cigna decided not to target the low-cost portion of the market. One ofRead More →

Blue Shield of California this week disclosed the new health insurance plans they will offer beginning on July 1st. These plans will replace all but 4 of the company’s current plans, and will add maternity care and mental health therapy for Autism. The only existing plans that will continue to be offered after July 1st are the Spectrum PPO 5000, Spectrum PPO 5500, Access+ HMO, and the Access+ Value HMO. Blue Shield of California Plan Overview The new replacement plans are the Shield Secure Plus PPO, Shield Secure PPO, Shield Wise PPO, and the Shield Saver plans. Each of these plans offers similar benefits withRead More →

With the beginning of April it becomes time to start running quotes for individual and family health insurance rates with a May 1st effective start date. The new rates and changes that Anthem Blue Cross of California announced in March now become very evident. Many Anthem customers that have older health insurance plans have seen their rates finally reach the “pain threshold” and as a result they are looking for lower cost alternatives. My quick assessment, from the first half dozen quotes I’ve run, is that Anthem has given up a huge chunk of their lead over the other individual and family health insurance companiesRead More →

In the search to find good maternity insurance California mothers have found fewer options to choose from over the last few years. However, new mandates in 2012 will require that all health insurance plans in California provide maternity health coverage. Both the Individual/Family plans as well as the Group plans will be affected by these new rules, which take effect on July 1st, 2012. Senate Bill SB222 by state Senator Noreen Evans, and Assembly Bill AB210 by Assemblyman Roger Hernandez, were both signed by Governor Jerry Brown on Oct 6th. These two bills require that every health insurance plan offered in California must provide maternityRead More →