Fixing Obamacare at Capitol Hill

March 8, 2015 By

Last week, I and my fellow board members from our agents and brokers’ Association of Health Underwriters (AHU) gathered at Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C. to visit with Congressmen and women from both sides of the aisle to discuss issues and challenges that affect health insurance for Americans. During the past 18 months since the ACA rollout, agents and brokers exceeded everyone’s expectations by excelling in their jobs, while the Govt. Exchanges and all other entities fell below expectations. Our association has received the recognition of lawmakers and regulators, and we strive to promote a system that would be more affordable, equitable, less bureaucratic to consumers and employers, while offering more choice and competition, and reducing the burden on taxpayers.
Thank you for your feedback and concerns which I incorporated into our conversations with legislators.

Phil Lee
Lee Health Insurance Services
www.health-insurance.com
800-286-7445

Filed Under: Affordable Care Act, Group Plans, Health Care Reform, Individual/Family Plans Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Obamacare: Enroll by Sunday 2/15 or Pay a Penalty

February 13, 2015 By

(Please disregard this if you have an Employer Group plan or have Medicare.)

For those of you who have not already enrolled into an Individual health plan, the enrollment deadline is this Sunday Feb. 15th.
After the Feb. 15th deadline, you will have to wait until the end of the year to enroll for Jan. 1, 2016. If you are uninsured, you may also face a penalty when you file your tax return in April 2016.

Possible Extension:
For those of you applying through Covered California for an On-Exchange health plan, if you start an online application before 2/15 but are not able to complete it on that day, we, as agents, have been given an extension to help you complete it, by 2/24. This extension is not available to the public and does not apply if you do not start an application by 2/15.
If you need help, please call us at 925-284-2000 or email [email protected] .

Phil Lee
Lee Health Insurance Services
925-284-2000
www.health-insurance.com

Filed Under: Affordable Care Act, Covered California, Health Care Reform, Individual/Family Plans Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Anthem Blue Cross Cyber Attack

February 6, 2015 By

This is important enough to warrant a special blog, for those of you who are enrolled in Anthem Blue Cross health plans.
Anthem Blue Cross announced yesterday that their information system has been attacked. We do not have the details of this hack but I am sharing with you below an excerpt from the announcement that we received from Anthem:

“Safeguarding your clients’ personal, financial and medical information is one of our top priorities, and because of that, we have state-of-the-art information security systems to protect your data. However, despite our efforts, Anthem was the target of a very sophisticated external, cyber attack. These attackers gained unauthorized access to Anthem’s information technology (IT) system and have obtained personal information from our current and former members such as their names, birthdays, member ID/Social Security numbers, street addresses, email addresses and employment information, including income data. Based on the information we know now, there is no evidence that banking, credit card, medical information (such as claims, test results, or diagnostic codes) were targeted or compromised.
Once the attack was discovered, Anthem immediately made every effort to close the security vulnerability, contacted the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and began fully cooperating with their investigation. Anthem has also retained Mandiant, one of the world’s leading cybersecurity firms, to evaluate our systems and identify solutions based on the evolving landscape.
Anthem’s own associates’ personal information – including our own – was accessed during this security breach. We join you in your concern and frustration, and we assure you that we are working around the clock to do everything we can to further secure your clients’ data.
Anthem will individually notify current and former members whose information has been accessed. We will provide credit monitoring and identity protection services free of charge so that those who have been affected can have peace of mind. We have created a dedicated website (www.AnthemFacts.com ) where members can access information such as frequently asked questions and answers. We have also established a dedicated toll-free number that both current and former members can call if they have questions related to this incident. That number is: 1-877-263-7995. As we learn more, we will continually update this website and share that information with you. And, we developed a memo template and FAQ to help you answer questions you may receive from your clients.
We want to personally apologize to you and your clients for what has happened, as we know you expect us to protect your information. We will do everything in our power to make our systems and security processes better and more secure, and hope that we can earn back your trust.”

Please note the toll free 877 number above and the website address www.AnthemFacts.com for more information.

The following Bloomberg article (link) sheds more light on the situation 24 hours after Anthem’s initial announcement and provides helpful steps to take to monitor your own information if you are an Anthem member :
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-02-05/what-to-do-right-now-if-you-re-one-of-the-80-million-anthem-members-who-got-hacked

If you are an Anthem member, I share your concerns and am sympathetic to your situation, as I and my family are also in the same position. I do not have any more information than what’s reported above. If you are affected, you will be receiving more communication from Anthem shortly.
Phil Lee
Philip W. Lee, MBA
Lee Health Insurance Services
800-286-7445
www.health-insurance.com

Filed Under: Group Plans, Individual/Family Plans, Medicare Plans Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Avoid Penalty – Deadline Feb. 15th to Enroll into Individual Health Plan

February 6, 2015 By

Avoid Penalty – Deadline Feb. 15th to Enroll into Individual Health Plan

To avoid a penalty, the deadline to enroll into an individual health plan is Feb. 15th, 10 days from today. If you submit an online application by that date, you will be able to secure an Effective Date of March 1st. If you miss this deadline, you may not enroll again until the end of 2015.
This deadline does not apply to you if you experience a qualifying event during the year, such as a loss of Employer group coverage, a change in family status such as a marriage, divorce or newborn, a move out of the area, etc.
If you are uninsured, or insured only with a temporary or non-creditable health plan, you may face an IRS-assessed penalty for 2015 of up to 2% of your household income. (This is up from 1% in the 2014 tax year.)
If your estimated 2015 household (MAGI or Modified Adjusted Gross Income) is between 138% and 400% of the Federal Poverty Line (FPL, equivalent to roughly between $16,106 and $46,680 annual income for a single person household), you may apply to Covered California for an APTC (Advance Premium Tax Credit or Tax Subsidy) to help pay the monthly premium on a creditable health plan. If not, you may apply for an Off-Exchange health plan at the same price without a subsidy. We can help you with both. If you income is below 138% FPL (or your children below 200% FPL), then you may qualify for Medi-Cal (California’s Medicaid).
Please call us at 800-286-7445 if you need help.

Philip W Lee
Lee Health Insurance Services
Employee Benefits and Health Insurance
[email protected]
www.Health-Insurance.com

Filed Under: Affordable Care Act, Covered California, Individual/Family Plans Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Alert to Individuals who Received Tax Subsidies or APTC to Pay for Covered California Health Plans – Form 1095A

January 31, 2015 By

(Note: This alert relates only to Individual and Family health plans. It does not relate to Employers with group health plans, nor to Seniors with Medicare plans.)

Re: IRS Form 1095A and Form 8962

Covered California, the California health insurance exchange, will shortly be sending out a form called the IRS Form 1095A to all individuals and families who received tax subsidies in 2014 to help pay for their Individual/Family health plans. This is required by the federal ACA law (Obamacare) and will be sent out by Jan. 31st.
These forms will show, in detail, by month, the amount of APTC (Advance Premium Tax Credit or Tax Subsidy) that the recipient received in helping pay the premium for their subsidized health plans in 2014.
These individuals will be required to use this Form 1095-A to obtain information needed to complete Form 8962 (Premium Tax Credit (PTC)). They must then complete IRS Form 8962 and file it with their 2014 Tax Return by April 15.
Those who enrolled into Off-Exchange health plans need not be concerned, since they did not receive any tax credit, you will not receive a 1095A. Only those who applied for a health plan through Covered CA AND who received an APTC to reduce the premium paid, will be receiving these 1095A forms.
Those enrolled into Medi-Cal (California Medicaid), those on Medicare, and those enrolled on employer group plans are not affected by the above.

Disclaimer: We are not qualified to give tax advice. If you have any questions concerning either Form 1095A or Form 8962, please contact Covered CA, your tax adviser, the IRS or go to the IRS website links below:
www.irs.gov/uac/About-Form-1095-A
www.irs.gov/uac/About-Form-8962

Philip W Lee, MBA
Lee Health Insurance Services
www.health-insurance.com
800-286-7445

Filed Under: Affordable Care Act, Covered California, Health Care Reform, Individual/Family Plans Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Alert: Blue Shield California Individual & Family Health Plans – Problems with Billing and Payments

January 31, 2015 By

(This concerns Individual and Family Health Plans either through Covered CA or Off Exchange direct from Insurance Carriers. This does not concern you if you are on Medicare or on an Employer group plan.)
We have been alerted to the fact that a good number of our clients have been experiencing payment issues with their Blue Shield individual health plans. This problem has affected members’ plans enrolled through Covered California, as well as plans enrolled outside of Covered CA (Off Exchange plans). In some cases, this has resulted in the cancellation of plans, even where clients have made timely payments.

We have discussed these payment issues with Blue Shield’s management. They are ongoing, known issues to Blue Shield. The payments issues stem from multiple factors such as:
1. Blue Shield is the only carrier that uses an outside billing vendor (one called HPS). Problems in their interface with this vendor is what caused many of their billing issues.
2. Blue Shield has been having problems in their interchange of information with Covered CA. These problems stem from an electronic file called Form 834 that is sent to Blue Shield by Covered CA containing enrollment details.
3. In cases where a member’s income or subsidy amounts have changed, there have been problems with incorrect transmittals from Covered CA. Some of these subsidy issues have to be corrected at the Covered CA level before being transmitted to Blue Shield.

We are told that Blue Shield is working on correcting these issues. In the meantime, please let us know at 925-284-2000, if we can help.

Lee Health Insurance Services 935 Moraga Road, Suite 240, Lafayette, CA 94549
Ph: 925-284-2000 Fx: 925-284-5484 [email protected] www.Health-Insurance.com
Employee Benefits and Health Insurance

Filed Under: Covered California, Individual/Family Plans Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Update on Enrollment Deadlines: Extensions for OFF Exchange Plans

December 19, 2014 By

(Note: This alert relates only to Individual and Family health plans.  It does not relate to Employers with group health plans, nor to Seniors with Medicare plans.)

ON Exchange (Covered CA) plans:

As reported earlier, the 12/15/14 deadline has been extended to midnight Sunday 12/21/14.  Online applications only.  This applies to all Covered CA Exchange plans from Anthem Blue Cross, Blue Shield and Kaiser.

 

OFF Exchange plans (outside of Covered CA and direct with insurers):

Anthem:  The deadline has been extended to midnight Sunday 12/21/14.  Applications must be on paper.

Blue Shield: There are no extensions.  The deadline passed on 12/15.  (If you still want Blue Shield but do not need a subsidy, you may still apply through the Covered CA portal.  But you will still have to provide income and immigration status to the Govt.)

Cigna: The deadline has been extended to Friday 12/19/14 at 5 pm PST.

Health Net: The deadline has been extended to midnight Sunday 12/21.  Online applications only.  Applicants are encouraged to pay their initial premium by 1/1/2015, without waiting for their NOA (Notice of Acceptance).  You may use HN’s 24-hour payment line at 1-800-539-4193. You will hear the amount due as soon as HN has your enrollment in their system.

In all cases, the application extension plus the time required to process the files will impact timely receipt of the NOA (Notice of Acceptance) letters, initial premium bills, delivery of ID cards and policy descriptions.

If you need help, please call us at 925-284-2000 or email [email protected].

Phil Lee

www.health-insurance.com

800-286-7445

Filed Under: Covered California, Individual/Family Plans Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Last Minute Alert: Covered CA Deadline Extended to Dec. 21 for Individual Health Plan Enrollments

December 16, 2014 By

(Note: This alert relates only to Individual and Family health plans.  It does not relate to Employers with group health plans, nor to Seniors with Medicare plans.)

We just learned tonight that Covered CA, the State Health Exchange, has extended the previous deadline for Jan. 1 enrollments, from Monday Dec. 15th to Sunday Dec. 21st at midnight.  This extension applies only to Individual plans, and only to Consumer and Agent-assisted enrollments.

Covered CA also states that enrollments completed after Dec. 15th may see delays in invoicing as well as delays in proof of enrollment procedures.  To facilitate faster enrollment, they encourage submitting applications as soon as possible, but no later than Dec. 21st.

Please call us, Lee Health Insurance Services, at 925-284-2000, if we can be of assistance.

Phil

Philip W Lee MBA

Lee Health Insurance Services, BLIS Corporation

800-286-7445

www.health-insurance.com

www.yelp.com/biz/lee-insurance-services-lafayette-6

Filed Under: Affordable Care Act, Covered California, Individual/Family Plans Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Health Plan Enrollment Deadlines

December 10, 2014 By

This is a friendly reminder of several deadlines that are approaching.

Deadlines for INDIVIDUAL & FAMILY HEALTH PLANS (Either On-Exchange Covered CA plans or Off-Exchange plans)

(1) Deadline to enroll or change plans for a Jan. 1st effective date is Monday, Dec. 15th

(2) Open enrollment runs from 11/15/14 to 2/15/15. The deadlines corresponding to each effective date are:

Deadlines for each Effective Date

12/15/14 for 1/1/15

1/15/15 for 2/1/15

2/15/15 for 3/1/15

(3) If you are currently receiving a subsidy, then you must Renew by logging into Covered CA with your User ID and Password in order to re-certify to continue receiving the subsidy. (4) If you are uninsured, you may enroll by Dec. 15th to avoid a penalty in 2015.

Deadlines for EMPLOYERS WITH SMALL GROUP PLANS

(1) Groups on Grandfathered or Grandmothered plans will already have renewed on Dec. 1st.

(2) All groups, whether Grandfathered or Grandmothered will have a chance to change to new ACA plans with another insurance carrier on Jan. 1st.

(3) If you are dissolving an Employer Group plan and allowing employees to buy individual plans, they need to enroll by Dec. 15th for a Jan. 1st start. (Note that Individual health plans have significantly smaller Provider Networks than Group plans, and smaller Drug Formulary lists. Each of your employee will need to research their providers and formularies carefully before making a switch. Not all employees will qualify for subsidies. Employers are not allowed to use pre-tax dollars to pay for employees’ Individual plan premiums.)

Deadlines for SENIORS ON MEDICARE PLANS

(1) The deadline to change from a Medicare Advantage MA-PD plan (HMO or PPO) to another is Dec. 7th.

(2) The deadline to change from a Medicare Prescription Drug PDP Plan to another is Dec. 7th.

(3) For Medicare Supplement (or Medicare Gap) Plans there is no deadline and no renewal is necessary. These plans will continue as long as you continue paying the premium.

(4) For those of you who received termination notices from Scan Health and Health Net Medicare Advantage plans, you must enroll before Dec. 31st for a Jan. 1st effective date. Since some carriers will be closed during the holidays, you should submit these applications 2 weeks before Dec. 31.

(5) If you are on a Medicare Advantage MAPD plan and wish to switch to a Supplement plan and a PDP plan, you may do so, guarantee issue, only under 13 specific conditions. Otherwise, underwriting approval may be required and the timing of the switch can be tricky. The ideal time to make a change is between Oct. 15 and Dec. 7th, and as early as possible during this window. This should not be done without the assistance of a knowledgeable agent.

Please contact us, Lee Health Insurance Services, at 925-284-2000 if we can be of assistance.

Phil Lee

www.health-insurance.com

http://www.yelp.com/biz/lee-insurance-services-lafayette-6

Filed Under: Affordable Care Act, Covered California, Group Plans, Health Care Reform, Individual/Family Plans, Medicare Plans Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Open Enrollment and Renewal for 2015 Individual Health Plans

November 26, 2014 By

(Please Note: This information pertains only to those of you who are on Individual or Family Health plans.  This does not affect either Employer Group plans or Medicare.)

This past year just flew by.  But Open Enrollment is upon us again.  The Open Enrollment period runs from Nov. 15th through Feb. 15th.  (Any plan changes to start on the first of a month must be made by the 15th of the previous month.)   All of you should have received letters or emails from either your insurance carrier or from Covered CA, or from both.  Many of you may not need to do anything at all for your plans to continue.  However all of you who received subsidies through Covered CA will all need to take action.  Details on how to do this are at the bottom of this email.

NOTE: If you require assistance, but we are not your agent, you may designate us as your agent in order to receive our assistance.

If you have an ON Exchange Individual Health Plan

(i.e.  you obtained your Anthem Blue Cross or Blue Shield or Kaiser or Health Net plan through Covered CA, either with or without our assistance as your agent.)

You must “Renew” your plan if you want to continue receiving your subsidy for the 2015 year.  You do this by logging into CoveredCA.com using your User ID and Password.  Government regulations require that you so this in order to continue the subsidy.  If you don’t do this, the premium for your plan will jump up to the full non-subsidized rate and you will be billed for that.  Some may also lose the cost reduction feature on the Silver 70+ AV plans.  Details on how to do this are at the end of this email.

If you have an OFF Exchange Individual Health Plan

(i.e. you obtained your Anthem Blue Cross or Blue Shield or Kaiser or Health Net or Cigna health plan, outside of Covered CA.  You did not apply for a subsidized plan.   You may or may not have used us as your agent.)

Please read the letters from your insurance carrier carefully.  Most of your plans will continue and you may not need to do anything to continue.  However for some of you, especially those who are on Health Net plans, they have cancelled some plans and changed many from PPO to EPO.  You may want to research new carriers or plans.

How to “Renew” Your Covered CA Subsidized Health Plan

Log into your account on Covered CA by going to: www.coveredca.com and once you are on your account page choose Renew (yellow box).   Next will appear Household Plan Selection and click Renew Health Plan (yellow box).

On the next page, two boxes will appear: Choose either Keep the Plan you now have or Shop for a different plan.

If you want to keep your current plan click Keep (yellow box) and checkout (yellow box) check all boxes, put in your pin number, sign and click Enroll (yellow box). On the next page you can print out your confirmation page and make sure you click Done (yellow box). Submit your payment to the carrier no later than December 26, 2014 by either calling your carrier or logging into their website to pay online.

If you want to change your plan when you are on the page that says: Keep the plan you now have or Shop for a different plan you will “remove your plan” (yellow box) first and then click on “Shop for a different plan”. Next page you will review all plans and choose a new plan, check out, check all boxes, put in your pin number, sign and click “Enroll” (yellow box). You can print out your confirmation page and click Done (yellow box). Submit your payment to the carrier no later than December 26, 2014 by either calling your carrier or logging into their website to pay online.

Please contact us, Lee Health Insurance Services, at 925-284-2000 if we can be of assistance.

Phil Lee

www.health-insurance.com

http://www.yelp.com/biz/lee-insurance-services-lafayette-6

Filed Under: Affordable Care Act, Covered California, Individual/Family Plans Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
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Lee Health Insurance Services | Healthcare Insurance Agency, Individual Health Insurance, Family Health Plans, Group Medical Insurance, Small Business Health Insurance, Whole & Term Life Insurance, Dental Insurance, Health Care Reform Assistance, Covered California Insurance Exchange Plans, Medicare Supplement Insurance, Medicare Advantage, Medigap Plans, Anthem Blue Cross, Kaiser Permanente, Blue Shield of CA, Health Net, Cigna, Aetna, Contra Costa County CA, Pleasant Hill, Danville, Concord, Berkeley, Martinez, Albany, Oakland, San Ramon, Alameda, Santa Clara, Campbell, Milpitas, Cupertino, Sunnyvale, Saratoga, Fremont, Palo Alto, Newark | 935 Moraga Road, Suite 240, Lafayette CA 94549 (925) 284-2000 or Toll-Free, (800) 286-7445