Beware of health insurance website that are lead capture traps

  I first published this post in 2011. A lot has changed since then, but many things are still the same. Searching for health insurance quotes and information online can be a risky business. There are two primary things you need to be aware of in order to stay away from medical insurance scams: Giving your contact information to the wrong website Getting duped into signing up for a “health insurance plan” that isn’t actually health insurance Rogue health insurance websites are set up to capture personal information from people trying to get instant quotes, and then the websites sell that information to agents.  InRead More →

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The California Open Enrollment Period for health insurance begins on October 15th. All applications submitted between 10/15 and 12/15 will result in a health plan starting on January 1st, 2020. If you want to renew and stay in your current plan you don’t need to do anything. Your insurance company and/or Covered California will automatically renew your existing health plan for 2020. The 2020 health plans and pricing will be available online beginning October 15th. Between now and then we can only speculate what your pricing might look like, and we can not submit new applications until 10/15. Big Changes Are Occurring In 2020! YourRead 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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In: Anthem Blue Cross, Blue Shield of California, Cigna, Health Care Reform, Health Insurance Information, Health Net, Kaiser Permanente, Medical Insurance, Physicians, rates, Sharp Health Plan
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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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  The First Wave Of Increases Rolls In Were you stunned when you opened the letter from your health insurance company and saw what your plan is going to cost in 2013. You probably thought to yourself, “Wasn’t Healthcare Reform supposed to prevent health insurance rate increases like this?” The truth, unfortunately for you and many people, is in the details about how the federal government regulates healthcare through ObamaCare, and the management of healthcare programs at the state level.  We’ll cover these details along with SOLUTIONS you can use to escape the rate increase you face. In the NBC Nightly News video below, LisaRead More →

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After a lot of analysis and data crunching, we’ve finally gotten all the new California maternity plans analyzed. The state of California mandated that all health insurance plans offered in the state after July 1st, 2012 had to provide coverage for maternity care. As a result, every insurance company adjusted their plans and their pricing to include this benefit. The result of this analysis is a ranking of the best maternity insurance in California. Prior to July 1st, there were only 27 plans that provided benefits for pregnancy costs. Now there are up to 120 plans to choose from (depending upon which county you liveRead More →

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Health Net has introduced a new family of plans to replace their existing health insurance plans starting July 1st. The plans are divided into two portfolios, one for Health Net’s Individual and Family Plans (IFP) and the other for their California Farm Bureau Plans. Health Net Individual and Family Plans This family offers 2 sets of benefits, from the mid-range benefit level of the “Value” plans, to the budget benefits of the “Advantage” level. Providing these benefit options and prices should simplify finding a plan that fits anyone’s needs. Value Plans These plans offer a good set of benefits including 2 office visits to seeRead More →

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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 →

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Governor Jerry Brown’s administration is planning to implement some parts of the Affordable Care Act (Health Care Reform) even if the Federal Supreme Court overturns part or all of the reform bill. State Health and Human Services Secretary Diana Dooley said that California should implement it’s own version of Health Care Reform, and require that all California residents have health insurance, similar to the requirement that everyone have car insurance. I applaud the intent to “do good deeds” for California, but Governor Brown is facing continuous budget deficits as things are, and needs voter approval of tax increases in order to maintain the status quo.Read More →

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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 →

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The federal government, which pays most of the cost for this program, just gave California permission to lower the rates on the insurance plan by up to 24%. The Pre-Existing Condition Insurance Plan California (PCIP California) was created as part of the Health Care Reform Bill last spring, and serves Californian’s that have been denied regular health insurance because of health conditions. This little known plan serves as a safety-net insurance plan for the uninsured. The rate reduction will take effect on Oct 1st, and the hope is that this will encourage more uninsured people to enroll in the plan. The 3500 current plan participantsRead More →

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In: Health Insurance Information, Pre-Existing Condition Insurance Plan (PCIP), rates
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For everyone that’s looking for the perfect resource to help make San Diego Medical Insurance easy to understand and apply for, the wait is over. The San Diego Medical Insurance page is now live and ready. This page starts by having you answer 5 questions to determine what benefits you need in your medical insurance plan, then guides you through the medical insurance quote and helps you easily find and compare the insurance plans that match what you outlined in the first step, so you can make the best decision. Then it walks you through the process of applying online, and gives you tips onRead More →

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In: Aetna, Anthem Blue Cross, Application Tips, Blue Shield of California, Child Health Insurance, Cigna, Health Insurance Information, Health Net, Health Net California Farm Bureau, Kaiser Permanente, Maternity Health Insurance, Medical Groups, Physicians, Recommendations
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There are usually many questions people ask me when they are filling out their health insurance applications. So I’ve created a new article that gives you tips on what to do and what not to do, so that your application is truthful and complete, and presents your health history to the insurance company in a fashion that is most favorable to you. This should be recommended reading for everyone before they start an online medical insurance application. To see this article go to the Health Insurance Quote Information page and scroll down to the bottom. If you’d like, a shortcut the article can be foundRead More →

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In: Aetna, Anthem Blue Cross, Application Tips, Blue Shield of California, Child Health Insurance, Cigna, Health Insurance Information, Health Net, Health Net California Farm Bureau, Kaiser Permanente, Maternity Health Insurance, Recommendations
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All health insurance plans have some benefits that won’t be important to the majority of people and therefore, should be ignored when comparing various plans.  Understanding the 4 key parts of all PPO health insurance plans will make it easy to know when you’ve got a plan that will fit your specific health insurance needs.  The 4 key parts are: Office Visit Co-pays Deductible Amount Out-of-Pocket Maximum Prescription Benefits Office visits are the most commonly used benefit in health insurance plans, and are one of the benefits that the insurance companies use to differentiate low cost plans from medium and high cost plans.Read More →

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