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News & Announcements about health insurance in California




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2018 Medicare Parts A & B Premiums and Deductibles Announced

November 17, 2017 By Kevin Knauss Leave a Comment

The standard monthly premium for Medicare Part B enrollees will be $134 for 2018, the same amount as in 2017. Some beneficiaries who were held harmless against Part B premium increases in prior years will have a Part B premium increase in 2018, but the premium increase will be offset by the increase in their Social Security benefits next year.

Filed Under: Medicare Tagged With: 2018, Deductibles, Medicare, Part A, Part B, Premiums

Continuity Of Care For Closed Anthem Blue Cross Health Plans

November 16, 2017 By Kevin Knauss Leave a Comment

Members who live in rating regions 1, 7, and 10 and who transition into a new Anthem EPO plan for 2018 can apply for Continuity of Care coverage if their current provider is no longer in network. They can call member services and ask for assistance with their ongoing treatment with their current providers.

Filed Under: Anthem Blue Cross Tagged With: Blue Cross, California, Care, Continuity, Health, Insurance, Treatment

DMHC Fines Anthem Blue Cross $5 Million for Systemic Grievance System Violations

November 15, 2017 By Kevin Knauss Leave a Comment

This enforcement action is the result of deficiencies identified in DMHC surveys and 245 specific grievance system violations identified by the DMHC Help Center during the investigation of consumer complaints from 2013 through 2016. Including this fine, the DMHC has fined Anthem Blue Cross $11.66 million for grievance system violations since 2002.

Filed Under: Anthem Blue Cross Tagged With: Anthem, Blue Cross, DMHC, Fine, Grievance, Violations

Blue Shield Drops 15th Of Month Payment Option For 2018

November 11, 2017 By Kevin Knauss 1 Comment

As we previously reported, new off-exchange enrollees into individual and family plans in California will not have the 15th of the month payment option in their enrollment materials. In addition, the automatic payment option through Easy$PaySM will be temporarily unavailable until later in 2018.

Filed Under: Blue Shield Tagged With: Billing, Blue Shield, Payments

WHA Individual And Family Plans In North Bay And Sacramento Regions

November 8, 2017 By Kevin Knauss Leave a Comment

Health, Insurance, Western, Health, Advantage, WHA

For individuals and families who travel more than 100 miles from their home, WHA plan members will be eligible for assistance with medical consultations and referrals from Assist America at mywha.org/travel. There is also a 24-hour nurse line to answer general health questions and referral to nurses with more specific knowledge of disease management.

Filed Under: WHA Tagged With: Health, Insurance, North Bay, Plans, Sacramento, WHA

Blue Shield Offers Both PPO And HMO Plans In California For 2018

November 7, 2017 By Kevin Knauss Leave a Comment

The Blue Shield Trio HMO plans include such medical groups as Dignity Health, Hoag Memorial, John Muir, Providence St. Joseph, St. Jude, and UC San Francisco. Your PCP will refer you to specialists within the network of doctors and providers within his or her medical group. Trio HMO plan will be available in 24 California counties. Trio HMO plan will also include the BlueCard program for urgent care outside of California similar to the PPO plans.

Filed Under: Blue Shield Tagged With: Blue Shield, California, Families, Health, HMO, Individuals, Insurance, Plans, PPO

Anthem Blue Cross 2018 California Family Plans

November 6, 2017 By Kevin Knauss Leave a Comment

All the plans offered will EPO (Exclusive Provider Organization) with no out-of-network coverage. Anthem will retain the BlueCard for travel coverage for its Blue Cross members. The 2018 plans will continue to use the Pathway network of providers.

Filed Under: Anthem Blue Cross Tagged With: Anthem, Blue Cross, California, Health, Insurance, Plans

Kaiser Individual And Family Health Insurance Plans California 2018

November 4, 2017 By Kevin Knauss Leave a Comment

Kaiser Permanente Health Insurance

The Kaiser plans Bronze 60 HDHP 5500/40%, Silver 70 2000/45, and Silver 60 HDHP 2700/15% are only available off-exchange. The Silver 73, 87, adn 94 plan are only available through Covered California. The Silver 70 Off Exchange plan virtually mirrors the Covered California Silver 70 plan but the rate does not include the Covered California Silver plan surcharge making it less expensive.

Filed Under: Kaiser Tagged With: California, Health Insurance, Kaiser

Medicare Special Election Period For Individuals Affected By California Wildfires

October 31, 2017 By Kevin Knauss Leave a Comment

Any beneficiary who resides in, or resided in, an area for which the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has declared an emergency or major disaster (see www.fema.gov/disasters or the list below*) is eligible for the SEP, if the beneficiary was unable to enroll in a plan during another qualifying election period. In addition, beneficiaries who do not live in the impacted areas but receive assistance from someone living in one of the affected areas also qualify for this SEP.

Filed Under: Medicare Tagged With: Butte, California, Lake, Medicare, Mendocino, Napa, Nevada, Orange, Solona, Sonoma, Special Enrollment Period, Wildfires, Yuba

2017 Medicare Advantage Star Ratings By Plan

October 24, 2017 By Kevin Knauss Leave a Comment

Medicare Advantage with prescription drug coverage (MA-PD) contracts are rated on up to 44 unique quality and performance measures; MA-only contracts (without prescription drug coverage) are rated on up to 32 measures; and stand-alone PDP contracts are rated on up to 15 measures. Each year, CMS conducts a comprehensive review of the measures that make up the Star Ratings, considering the reliability of the measures, clinical recommendations, feedback received from stakeholders, and data issues.

Filed Under: Medicare Tagged With: Advantage, Drugs, Health, Medicare, PDP, Plans, Star Ratings

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