special enrollment periods last 60 days

Many people think they can sign up for health insurance whenever they need to because of health care reform. They call us to get enrolled in a plan, and we ask them what changes have taken place in their life. They seem puzzled by the question and say nothing has changed. We then have to explain to them why they don’t qualify to sign up for coverage. There are qualifying life events that enable you to get health insurance outside the open enrollment period. We’ll show you what they are, and how you can use them to sign up for coverage. There is one additionalRead More →

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For 30 years these plans have lain on the side of the stream, waiting for the right time. The time is now. Health Share Membership plans are becoming a mainstream option because of the significant price increases in Obamacare health plans the last couple of years. Well over 1 million people are now enrolled in these health share ministry plans. Many people I talk to have never heard of these policies. So, to help clients and visitors get a better understanding of what these health care sharing plans are, we’ve created a new section of the website with information about how these plans work, alongRead More →

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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 →

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why are covered ca applications so hard?

We recommend Covered CA applications be completed using the help of our brokers. However we know that some of you like to do things on your own. We can now help make that easier for you.

We’ve created a new page that walks you through the process of setting up your initial account with Covered California. We give you step by step instructions showing the actual Covered CA pages. Then we show you how to connect SPF Insurance into your application so we can help you if (when) you run into a jam. Read More →

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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 →

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Where's My California 1095 Form

It’s tax time and CPAs are busy collecting 1095A, 1095B, and 1095C forms from each client. The 1095 form tells the IRS if you had health insurance in 2015, and during which months you had coverage. So when will your 1095 form arrive? This depends on whether you have company-sponsored group coverage, individual or family coverage that you bought straight from an insurance company, or if you got your health insurance through Covered California. 1095 Form From Covered California If you purchased health insurance through the Covered California exchange, then you have probably received your 1095A form in the mail already. Covered California mailed theseRead More →

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special enrollment periods last 60 days

Now that the annual health insurance open enrollment period has closed you can not change your health plan unless you have a qualifying life event. There is a list of 12 total qualifying life events, but many of them occur very infrequently. Of the remainder, some are more common, and we’ll show how you can use these to create a special enrollment period that allows you to change or get new health insurance coverage. The 3 easiest qualifying events to use are: Involuntary loss of Minimum Essential Coverage New resident of California due to permanent move, or a resident moving to a location where newRead More →

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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 →

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Open Enrollment In California Lasts until Feb 15 2015

As most of you are probably aware, this year the California open enrollment period started on November 15th, and to get a January 1st start date, the deadline was December 15th, or yesterday. Well, not a whole lot of surprise, but Covered California announced yesterday that they were going to extend the deadline from December 15th out to December 21st. So for everybody that was a little bit late, or couldn’t quite get to it by the 15th, there’s a little bit more time. However, the caveat to that is the only way to sign up now and get a January 1st start for yourRead More →

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Anthem Blue Cross logo - Open Enrollment 2015

By now, you’ve received your letters from Anthem Blue Cross telling you what your 2015 rates are going to be. Depending on your experience this year, and the rate change you got, you may be asking yourself, “is there a better plan for me?” We’ll show you what steps to take to make sure you get through the California open enrollment period with the least amount of hassle. As a starting point, some of the information in the letters was incorrect. The subsidy income qualification levels should have been, “modified adjusted gross income of $16,105 to $46,680 or $32,913 to $95,400 for a family ofRead More →

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Don't Be Puzzled By The 2015 Open Enrollment Period

The next open enrollment period begins on November 15th and ends on February 15th, 2015. During this period you can choose to stay on your current plan, move to another plan, or enroll in health insurance for the first time. For the 2015 Open Enrollment Period in California there are many changes taking place, and you need to be aware of the following: Changes to health plans. a. Health plan benefit changes. b. Standardization of all health plan names. c. Health plans that are going away. d. Rate Changes. Timeline for open enrollment changes. Covered California renewal process. a. Required income verification authorization. b. RequiredRead More →

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There are a great number of people that believe they can sign up for health insurance whenever they need to because of health care reform. Polls have shown that 55% of Americans don’t know that the open enrollment period ends on March 31st. Media outlets (aka newspapers, and magazine sites) are not helping, and are sometimes a source of horrible mis-information. There are only a few qualifying events that will allow you to get health insurance after open enrollment. We’ll show you what those are, and how you can make use of them to sign up for coverage. You Can’t Enroll To Get Health InsuranceRead More →

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Your new Obamacare health insurance plan is now in place, congratulations. Do you know if you choose a good plan? Are your prescriptions covered? Does your doctor take your plan? Now is the time to find out, because you won’t be able to change your plan after March 31, 2014. Make Sure Your Doctor Takes Your Obamacare Plan The simplest way to test your Health Care Reform insurance plan is to get an annual physical and refill an existing prescription. The annual checkup will require setting an appointment to see your physician, so you will be able to determine if the doctor is in yourRead More →

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Covered CA Cancelled Your Policy

  By now, everyone in California has received a letter telling them that their health insurance plan is being cancelled on December 31st. However, the Affordable Care Act (ACA) does not say that all these plans have to be cancelled at the end of December. Why then is your health insurance plan being stopped? President Obama has said many times, “If you like the plan you currently have, you can keep it.” After the cancellation letters arrived, the administration changed the story and justified the cancellations because the cancelled plans offered “poor coverage.” In many states this may be true, but in California our healthRead More →

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Covered CA Exchange Home Page

  On Tuesday October 1st, the Obamacare enrollment period began. Health insurance exchanges across the US opened their doors and begin accepting applications for coverage to start on January 1st, 2014. In California, the exchange, called Covered CA, has spent $80 million promoting itself for the last month and encouraging consumers to enroll once it opens. Is it really going to be that easy? Probably not. There are a number of key things that are missing on day one of health care reform. Some are critical for the success of Obamacare. The missing pieces are: Only a limited number of insurance company plans have beenRead More →

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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 →

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Aetna Health Insurance Leaving California

  Aetna Health Insurance announced they are leaving the California marketplace for individual and family plans. The end date of all their plans is December 31, 2013. All 49,000 Aetna clients still have six months to figure out what health plan they should move to. In this article we’ll give you a simple mapping that recommends which plans you should move to based upon the Aetna health plan you currently have, a “gotcha” to watch out for, and a couple of silver linings to feel good about. The simplest way to replace your Aetna Health Insurance is to simply look for an alternative plan withRead More →

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Health Care Reform Is Confusing

  In the last few months we’ve seen a lot of Health Care Reform rules and regulations being introduced by the Health and Human Services Department. Every time that happens, the media gets hold of it and all kinds of articles are written in the Wall Street Journal, the New York Times, and the TV network news programs talk about it. All the analysts start talking about the pros and cons, and what it means to businesses and individuals. The problem with this is, many times one writer looked at the regulation, and wrote a piece about it. Then other writers start using pieces fromRead More →

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