The Individual Mandate Could Be Coming B...

It looks as if California will be reinstating the Individual Mandate. Earlier this year, identical bills were brought to the California Senate and Assembly calling for all Californians to have health insurance coverage by 2020 or pay a tax penalty. These were brought forward to reverse the repeal by Congress of the federal order that was a part of the Affordable Care Act. Since the Affordable Care Act came into effect, California’s uninsured rate dropped from 20% to 7%. “I don’t see a very rosy picture of what is happening now that the (federal) mandate is gone,” said...

Which Pre-existing Conditions Are Not Co...

Background: What’s a Pre-existing condition? For insurance purposes, a pre-existing condition is any medical condition or diagnosis you had prior to the issuance of an insurance policy. What pre-existing conditions, if any, are covered by the policy varies from policy to policy. Some insurance policies are affected by government regulations, such as the Affordable Care Act (“Obamacare.”) Some policies have a clause that excludes any condition (diagnosis) that existed at the time the policy was issued, even if it was not discovered until after the diagnosis was...

What to Look for When Choosing a Health ...

When it comes to making a decision as important as choosing a health insurance company on the Affordable Care Act marketplace, it warrants some careful consideration and research.  With complex terminology like “premiums” or “deductibles,” things can get very confusing very fast.  But hopefully, some of the tips here will help you find the right insurance company with the right plan for you. When evaluating a health insurance company or plan, you should look at 3 main things: What type of insurance plan do you need? There are a few different types of plans that would be...

How Does the Government Subsidy for Heal...

The Affordable Care Act (ACA), also known as Obamacare, came into force in 2010 to provide affordable health insurance for Americans. As part of this Act, Medicaid and some government subsidies were created to help people pay their health insurance premiums. How do these subsidies work? If you qualify, these subsidies will work to limit the amount of premiums you pay to a percentage of your annual income.  The actual amount you get varies based on the cost of the benchmark healthcare plans in your area. If your benchmark plan costs more than a certain percentage of your...

What Type of Health Plan is Kaiser?

There are two kinds of health insurance plans, health maintenance organizations (HMO) and preferred provider organization (PPO). With an HMO plan, your primary care provider (PCP) coordinates your medical services. Often, your PCP will need to make a referral for you to see a specialist or for you to have any kinds of medical testing. If you choose to see a provider outside the HMO network, you will be responsible for the entire cost of the medical care. Usually, an HMO doesn’t have a deductible and premiums are lower. Kaiser offers a variety of HMO plans that are...

Do Small Businesses Have to Offer Health...

As the costs of health insurance continue to rise, it not only affects individuals, but the businesses that make their employee health care a priority. Small companies don’t have the cash flow that larger corporations do, often find themselves in a difficult situation when it comes to health insurance. With the cost of covering one employee under group health rising nearly 200 percent over the last fifteen years, many small businesses are left wondering if they have to provide health insurance to their employees. Providing Benefits to Employees While small...