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News & Announcements about health insurance in California




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Public meeting on acquisition of Health Net by Centene

November 18, 2015 By Kevin Knauss Leave a Comment

The Department of Managed Health Care (DMHC) invites you to a public meeting on the acquisition of Health Net of California by Centene.

Filed Under: CA DMHC, Health Net Tagged With: California, Centene, Health Net

Medi-Cal guidance for individuals and households with fluctuating income

November 16, 2015 By Kevin Knauss 1 Comment

The purpose of this letter is to provide counties with guidance regarding fluctuating or self-employment income, and the use of projected annual income when transmitting income to the California Healthcare Eligibility, Enrollment and Retention System (CalHEERS) to calculate MAGI. Self-employment or fluctuating income may include income received from self-employment, partnerships, s-corporations, royalties, estates, trusts and real estate rentals.

Filed Under: Medi-Cal Tagged With: Income, MAGI, Medi-Cal

Anthem Blue Cross adds travel benefits to California plans

November 13, 2015 By Kevin Knauss Leave a Comment

You may recall that in 2015, BlueCard was limited to hospital and urgent care only for Individual PPO members, while Small Group PPO members enjoyed full BlueCard access. But all that changes for 2016, when our Individual PPO members will also now have full access to BlueCard. So for example, if they want to go to a chiropractor while traveling, it’s a covered service under BlueCard.

Filed Under: Anthem Blue Cross Tagged With: Anthem Blue Cross, Blue Card, California, Travel

IRS guidance on 2016 flexible spending arrangements

November 12, 2015 By Kevin Knauss Leave a Comment

FSAs provide employees a way to use tax-free dollars to pay medical expenses not covered by other health plans. Because eligible employees need to decide how much to contribute through payroll deductions before the plan year begins, many employers this fall are offering their employees the option to participate during the 2016 plan year.

Filed Under: IRS Tagged With: Flexible Sending Arrangements, Flexible Sprending Accounts, FSA, IRS

L.A. Care Covered members can pay cash for monthly premiums

November 12, 2015 By Kevin Knauss Leave a Comment

L.A. Care Covered members can now use PayNearMe to pay monthly premiums in cash at more than 680 retail locations, including 7-Eleven, ACE Cash Express and Family Dollar Stores. Members present a bar code to the store cashier to make their cash payment. The service is free to L.A. Care Covered members and the payments post within 24 hours.

Filed Under: L.A. Care Covered Tagged With: L.A. Care

United Healthcare to expand virtual doctor visits

November 11, 2015 By Kevin Knauss Leave a Comment

Earlier this year UnitedHealthcare announced coverage for virtual care provider visits would be available to some self-funded customers in 2015. Additional plans for expansion in 2016 include upon renewal, self-funded customers and fully insured customers when we have approval from your state’s regulatory body.

Filed Under: United Healthcare Tagged With: Doctor Visits, United Healthcare, Virtual

Medicare 2016 Part B premium and deductible to increase

November 10, 2015 By Kevin Knauss Leave a Comment

Beneficiaries not subject to the “hold harmless” provision will pay $121.80, as calculated reflecting the provisions of the Bipartisan Budget Act signed into law by President Obama last week. Medicare Part B beneficiaries not subject to the “hold-harmless” provision are those not collecting Social Security benefits, those who will enroll in Part B for the first time in 2016, dual eligible beneficiaries who have their premiums paid by Medicaid, and beneficiaries who pay an additional income-related premium. These groups account for about 30 percent of the 52 million Americans expected to be enrolled in Medicare Part B in 2016.

Filed Under: Medicare Tagged With: Deductible, Medicare, Part A, Part B, Premiums

United Healthcare individual and family plan documents

November 10, 2015 By Kevin Knauss Leave a Comment

UHC has released a California plan overview brochure, prescription drug formulary, and Summary of Benefits. These documents can documents can be downloaded from United Healthcare California Individual and Family Plans along with a link to a doctor and hospital directory.

Filed Under: United Healthcare Tagged With: California, Individual and Family Plans, United Healthcare

Feds urge drug makers and states to make Hepatitis C drugs available

November 9, 2015 By Kevin Knauss Leave a Comment

Recognizing that we need both access and affordability, today we issued a notice to all 50 state Medicaid directors and sent letters to the CEOs of several drug manufacturers about providing access to therapy for Hepatitis C patients. Our notice to state Medicaid directors reminds states of their obligation to provide access to these promising therapies (consistent with section 1927 of the Social Security Act) based on the medical evidence, and that they have tools available to manage their costs. Our letter to manufacturers asks them to provide us with information on pricing arrangements and asks them for ideas to support the provision of these lifesaving medications to Medicaid programs at sustainable prices.

Filed Under: CMS, Medi-Cal, Medicaid Tagged With: Drugs, Hepatitis C, Medi-Cal, Medicaid

Anthem partners with Castlight Health to improve website

November 4, 2015 By Kevin Knauss Leave a Comment

Anthem and Castlight Health, Inc., leaders in health care management, today announced their expanded collaboration that will help employers and consumers make smarter health care spending decisions. During the first three years of the new collaboration, both companies will focus on offering new products and innovative cost and quality tools that make health care choices more transparent and easier to understand.

Filed Under: Anthem Blue Cross Tagged With: Anthem, Blue Cross, Castlight

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