California health
insurance
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California health
insurance basics
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Shopping tips for California health plansInsider's Tips
on Shopping for California
Health Insurance
When you work exclusively
in one market for almost two
decades, you start to learn
a few tricks..hopefully.
When you throw another 12
years of web experience in
that same industry,
everything takes on a
definitely online slant.
After helping 1000's of
online shoppers, we sat back
and asked what would be the
best tips we could offer in
trying to get the best
California health quote for
you, your family, or
company?
We wanted the top
concerns that would save you
the most money while still
providing you with solid
coverage. Is that even
possible on the today's
market?
Yes and this why...many
people we come across are on
really bad plans or at
least, bad in terms of
value. Let's jump right into
our top tips!
1. First, we want to make
sure to see the best quotes
available.
When you run your quote,
use the age of the younger
spouse as the primary since
some carriers will quote
based on this age (even
though other spouse is
younger).
We want to make an
informed decision and
reflecting the best rates is
a start.
2. Go PPO or HSA.
HMO's plans on the
individual family market are
so expensive now that they
almost never make sense
unless someone else is
paying your premium and even
then... The cost can be two
to three times that of a
mid-level PPO plan. The
numbers just don't work in
your favor.
3. All plans cover
maternity coverage effective
July 1st, 2012.
Even older plans or the
so-called "grandfathered"
plans cover maternity as a
core benefit due to
California legislation. It's
no longer a factor in which
plan to choose.
We cannot exclude this
benefit.
4. The two factors that
probably matter most are
deductible and max out of
pocket.
These two numbers dictate
how much you'll pay in case
of large medical bills.
When running your quote,
there are two benefit
headings for "deductible"
and "copay limit" (which is
interchangeable with out of
pocket max). Some carriers
will show the max in
addition to the deductible
while others will show the
max including the
deductible.
For example, if
deductible is $3K and
ADDITIONAL max is $3K, some
plans will show it as $3K
and $3K while others (such
as Shield's new plans) will
show the exact same plan as
$3K and $6K. This can be
confusing. You can always
click on the plan name to
bring up the summary
brochure which will specify
this relationship. We can
help of course go through
any plan comparisons.
5. With all the plans
that come up, there are
really a few suites of plans
that make any financial
sense.
Today, it basically boils
down between Anthem's Smart
Sense plans and Shield
Secure Wise plans for
mid-level plans. Otherwise
it's more catastrophic
coverage (point #6 below).
We can help you compare and
contrast these for your
situation. Furthermore, you
have a choice of generic
only or Brand RX for the
Smart Sense plans.
6. For lower priced,
catastrophic coverage,
Anthem Blue Cross Clear
Protection plans or Blue
Shield's HSA plans are
generally the best value on
the market with the latter
being more comprehensive
(it's what I personally
have). If price is the
absolute qualifier for you,
start here. Otherwise, look
at #5 above.
7. California HSA health
plans combine high
deductible PPO plans with
tax-favored checking
accounts.
If the tax benefit
is sufficient (based on your
tax bracket), Shield's HSA
plans are generally priced
better and they have an
embedded deductible (in your
favor).
8. Family members can be
on different plans.
You can mix and
match plans within a family
since each family member is
individually priced these
days. You may want richer
coverage for children since
adults cost more in most
cases. You can mix and match
benefits. Maybe catastrophic
for adults and more
comprehensive (office visits
and RX coverage) for the
children. Adults are more
expensive than kids so this
can work to your advantage.
9. There's a new rule
regarding effective dates
in that the earliest
available is 15 days
following online app
submittal (completed) or
hard copy being received.
Applying online for
California health insurance
is always the fastest
approach and you can access
the applications through the
quote or here. This gives
extra reason to start
earlier rather than later.
10. Payment is now
required with the
application (credit card
or auto-deduction option) up
front but we have a 10 day
free look window in
California which means we
can cancel it the policy for
any reason for a full refund
with 10 days of their
written offer. No
application fee or fee for
our service is required and
the rates online are best
available on the market.
So these are the big 10 that
cover everything from
picking the best plans to
getting the best rates.
There are many other
concerns and questions since
everyone has a different
situation but that's where
we come in with our 18 years
of experience. How can we
help?
Call us at 800-320-6269 with any
questions. Our services are free to you as
licensed health agents.