Obamacare Deadlines – March 15 and March 31

Originally Posted 3/7/2014
(This E-blast pertains to people buying individual and family plans only. Medicare plans and employer plans are not affected by this announcement.)

1. Obamacare Deadlines – March 15 and March 31

MARCH 15TH IS THE LAST DAY TO SIGN UP FOR AN INDIVIDUAL HEALTH PLAN WITH AN APRIL 1, 2014 EFFECTIVE DATE.

Saturday, March 15th is the deadline to sign up for an individual plan with an Effective Date of April 1, 2014. This deadline applies to Covered California subsidized plans AND non-subsidized plans purchased directly from an insurance company.

Our office will be closed on Saturday, March 15th. If you need help choosing and applying for a plan you MUST call us by March 14.

To apply to Covered California and designate us as your agent or to apply to a non-subsidized plan please follow the link below.

March 31, 2014 IS THE LAST DAY TO BUY HEALTH INSURANCE FOR 2014.

The Effective Date of insurance coverage will be May 1, 2014. This deadline applies to Covered California plans AND non-subsidized plans purchased directly from an insurance company.

If you do not have insurance as of May 1, 2014 you will be subject to a penalty (tax) of the greater of $95 or 1% of adjusted gross income. And you will have to wait until Nov. to apply for Jan. 2015.

Please call us if we may assist you in securing coverage for 2014.

How to apply to Covered CA and Outside marketplace:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/hqbjyqdxcecrs1j/How%20to%20Apply%20to%20CovCA%20or%20Outside2.docx

We offer one stop shopping and can help you with all of these plans. Please call us at 925-284-2000 if you encounter any problems in this application process. We are prepared to help you.
Thank you for reading.
Phil Lee
www.health-insurance.com
925-284-2000

Update of Obamacare Deadlines

Originally Posted 1/15/2014

(This information applies only to Individual and Family health plans. It does not apply to Employer Group plans or to Medicare plans.)

Covered California Payment Deadlines:
For those of you who applied for Individual/Family coverage with an Effective Date of Jan. 1st., either On Exchange (Covered CA), or Off Exchange (from the insurance carrier). Some of the deadlines for initial premium payments have been extended. Those deadlines are:
Blue Shield, Jan. 15th
Health Net, Jan. 15th
Anthem Blue Cross, Jan. 31st
Kaiser, Jan. 31st
Open Enrollment Period Continues
If 1) your plan was cancelled, or
2) you were mapped to a new plan by your insurance carrier, or
3) you opted for an extension to March, or
4) you are on a grandfathered plan, or
5) you are simply uninsured
You may still apply to a new or change insurance carriers before March 31st.
Open Enrollment Application Deadlines:
For Feb. 1st start dates, the deadline is Jan. 15th.
For March 1st start date, the deadline is Feb. 15th.
For April 1st start date, the deadline is March 15th.
For May 1st start date, the deadline is March 31st.
Last day of Open Enrollment for 2014 is March 31st.

We offer one stop shopping and can help you with all of these plans. Please call us at 925-284-2000 if you encounter any problems in this application process. We are prepared to help you.
Thank you for reading.
Phil Lee
www.health-insurance.com
www.HealthPlanTalk.com
925-284-2000

Applications to Covered CA On and Off Exchange Health Plans. Provider Search Update.

(The following information does not apply to you if you are on an employer group plan or on Medicare.)

There appears to be a great deal of confusion as to where to submit an application and the role of an agent.
Much of the confusion stem from the failure of the CoveredCA media advertising to mention that in addition to the Covered California Exchange, there is also a whole marketplace of health plans and insurance carriers available to consumers OUTSIDE of the Covered CA Exchange (Off-Exchange). The major difference is that you may only apply for a subsidy INSIDE the CoveredCA Exchange (On-Exchange). But if you don’t qualify or need a subsidy, you may apply outside where all the same plans are also available at the same rates, plus additional carriers and plan choices.

In addition, the Covered CA advertising also fails to mention that agents (Certified Insurance Agents) like myself are available to help consumers to quote, evaluate and apply to BOTH On and Off Exchange plans. And that there are no fees for our services. And no difference in premium. And that we offer free ongoing service.

(A) To apply to a plan INSIDE the Covered CA Exchange (On-Exchange):
You must go to www.coveredca.com to apply. Please designate me as your agent (look for “Find Help Near You”). Step by Step instructions for applying:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/9pas1gmsycqdrfx/Application%20Screenshots%20CovCA.docx

(B) To apply to a plan OUTSIDE the Exchange (Off-Exchange), please use the following links to apply:

Anthem Blue Cross (Deadline Dec. 23rd): https://brokerportal.anthem.com/ehb/web/bkr/acc/agentconnect/PHILIPLEE_1

Blue Shield (Deadline Dec. 15th):
https://www.blueshieldca.com/bsca/ApplyNow?xyz=I%2Bc68ZizpmLi

Health Net (Deadline Dec. 15th):
https://www.healthnet.com/portal/consumer/ca/getYourQuote.ndo?region=CA&a=10952

Kaiser: (Deadline Dec. 15th):
https://smu.kaiserpermanente.org/expressweb/ClearWorkspace.action?nextAction=/user/URLDecryptAction.action&refID=7o830apvbn8eyriuut5qmukks0hfomvhibykqt7emn1yam3vpqwgnp5t815gww

Note: If you miss the Dec. 15th deadline, you may still apply for a non-subsidized health plan through Covered CA. The only difference is that you will need to provide income and immigration information (to be shared by several Government agencies) even though you are not requesting a tax subsidy.

Provider Search

Anthem Blue Cross revised Provider Search
Go to www.anthem.com/CA
RHS under “Useful Tools”, click Find a Doctor.
On LHS Choose Doctor or Hospital #1
#2 Type Name of Doctor or Hospital
#3 Enter radius in miles and zip code.
#4 Enter State and Plan Type or network.
1. Plan Network for Covered CA Exchange:
a. Pathway X HMO Individual via Exchange
b. Pathway X PPO Individual via Exchange
c. Pathway X EPO Individual via Exchange
2. Plan Network for Non-Exchange:
a. Pathway HMO Individual
b. Pathway PPO Individual
c. Pathway EPO Individual

Blue Shield of CA Provider Finder
https://www.blueshieldca.com/fap/app/search.html
(Be sure to “Select a Plan” first before you search.)

Health Net Provider Finder
https://www.healthnet.com/portal/provider/providerSearch.do?region=CA

We offer one stop shopping and can help you with all of these plans. Please call us at 925-284-2000 if you encounter any problems in this application process. We are prepared to help you.
Thank you for reading.
Phil Lee
www.health-insurance.com
www.HealthPlanTalk.com
925-284-2000

Obamacare — What You Should Do Next with your Health Plan

(This information applies only to Individual & Family health plans. It does not pertain to Employer group plans, employee plans or Medicare plans.)

Today, everything has changed once again! In a press conference this morning, President Obama announced that he wants policy cancellations to be delayed for one year.

How and whether this will be implemented will be decided by the HHS (Dept. of Health & Human Services), the California Insurance Commissioner, Dave Jones, and each insurance company. The final information will trickle down to us after these decisions are made. We don’t know yet when that will be.

Our phone has been ringing non-stop since this announcement. I will give you what we know and suggest some next steps.

1. Before you make any move, please follow the instructions on the piece “Choose an On or Off Exchange plan” to figure out if: (a) you qualify for a subsidy, (b) if your providers are on the network of the 2014 plans and (c) if your prescription drugs are on the formulary lists of the 2014 plans.
2. If you are on a grandfathered plan, you do not need to change anything unless you want to. Your plan will continue as is with the same benefits, provider network, and formulary lists.
3. If you are on a plan where you have received a cancellation notice for Dec. 31. This may be delayed until Dec. 2014. We are waiting for information on this.
4. If you have received a notice that your plan will be “mapped” to a new plan Jan. 1st, this also may be delayed until Dec. 2014.
5. If you want to change plans on Dec. 1st, please contact us.
6. If you received a large rate increase and want to consider other carriers and plans on Dec. 1st or Jan. 1st, please contact us.
7. If you qualify for a subsidy and want a Covered CA plan, please contact us for advice, online enrollment instructions and a paper application.

Please contact me know if you would like me to receive the following attachments:
A. “Choose On or Off Exchange plan” helps you to choose a plan inside or outside the Exchange (with screenshots).
B. “Fillable CoveredCA application” is a fillable Covered CA paper application in pdf format.
C. “Application Screenshots CovCA” takes you step by step to start an application, set up a Profile and Designate an Agent with screenshots).
D. “Agent Designation Screenshots” shows you how to designate an Agent (with screenshots).

Phil Lee
www.health-insurance.com
www.healthplantalk.com
800-286-7445

What is the difference between Covered California On-Exchange, Off-Exchange and Off-Off-Exchange Health Insurance Plans?

What is the difference between Covered California On-Exchange, Off-Exchange and Off-Off-Exchange Health Plans?
1) On-Exchange plans are offered by the official Covered California Exchange to consumers and small businesses. They have the following characteristics:
• 4 Standardized Metallic Tiers of plans called: Platinum, Gold, Silver and Bronze.
• There also offer a Catastropic level plan to 18 to 30 year olds only.
• Each Metallic Level plan may be offered by several of the carriers in each county, e.g. Anthem Blue Cross, Blue Shield, Kaiser and Health Net.
• On-Exchange Plans may be purchased online, through a licensed and certified Agent or through a CEC (certified enrollment counselor).
• You may apply for a federal Subsidy (or Premium Assistance) at the time that you make you application for enrollment.
• Most On-Exchange plans have reduced or limited networks of providers.

There are 2 kinds of Off Exchange Plans:
2) Off Exchange plans that “mirror” the Metallic Level plans and are identical to them. These plans usually have different names than the metallic plans.• Rates are the same between the On Exchange plans and the Off Exchange “Mirror” plans.
• They offer the same 4 metallic level plans, although under different names.
• Subsidies are not offered on Off Exchange plans.
• Off-Exchange plans may have either full or limited provider networks.

3) Off-Off Exchange Plans that are not standardized and are different from any of the On Exchange or Off-Exchange “Mirror” plans.
• Rates and Benefits are different than On Exchange plans.
• No Subsidies are offered for these Off-Off Exchange plans.
• Off-Off Exchange plans are more likely to offer full provider networks in addition to limited provider network plans.

On Exchange plans (1) are identical to Off Exchange plans (2). The only difference is that one may apply for a subsidy if they purchase an On Exchange plan. No subsidy are available on Off Exchange plans. On the Individual Exchange, one may apply for an individual subsidy based on income. On the SHOP Exchange, small business employers may apply for a tax credit to help pay for premiums on employee plans.

With On Exchange plans, each metallic level may offer a choice of multiple carriers to their employees simultaneously, like Anthem and Kaiser, or Blue Shield and Kaiser. While Off Exchange plans may be purchased only from one carrier at a time.
Off-Off Exchange plans (3) may offer many plan designs not available under the 4 standardized metallic levels.
Off-Off Exchange plans are more likely to offer larger provider networks than On-Exchange plans.

Phil Lee
www.health-insurance.com
www.healthplantalk.com

Why you should not rush into a Covered California Exchange health insurance plan right now.

• The CoveredCA.com online enrollment is still hampered by glitches and delays.
• Most of the carriers are only offering “skinny” networks of slimmed down providers within the Exchange plans.
• The Covered CA website and the carrier websites have either not been able to do Provider searches, or have been giving wrong results.
• The carriers have not yet released rates and details for their Off-Exchange health plans. This means that you cannot right now get a complete picture of what all is available in the marketplace.
• There will be 3 categories of health plans available on Jan. 1st.: Covered CA Exchange plans, Off-Exchange Mirror (Standardized) plans, and Off-Exchange non-Standardized plan.

You will have time to make a proper decision once all the information is out.
• The open enrollment period extends to March 31.
• The deadline for the Jan. 1st enrollment is Dec. 15th.
How to decide whether to buy an On-Exchange plan or Off-Exchange plan:
• If you know that you qualify for a Subsidy (Premium Assistance), then you have to purchase an Exchange plan such as a Bronze plan in order to get the subsidy.
• If you know that you don’t qualify for a subsidy, then you should purchase an Off-Exchange plan or Off-Off-Exchange plan, without subsidy.
• To find out if you may qualify for a subsidy, go to www.coveredca.com.

What to do Next?
• Certified Insurance Agents are expected to have the ability to provide you with complete quotes for all plans in the marketplace (in and out of the Exchange) sometime in Nov.
• The health insurance carriers are expected to have the correct provider network list online by Nov.
• There is no cost to use Insurance Agents who are certified by Covered CA to provide this ongoing service to you.

Phil Lee
www.health-insurance.com
www.HealthPlaTalk.com

Covered California Health Benefit Exchanges Open for Business

Today, Tuesday Oct. 1st, Covered California, the State Individual Exchange, and SHOP, the State’s Small Business Exchange, will open for business.
Although they will open for business, the Exchange plans and rates may or may not be available for comparison on Tuesday. We will have to wait and see. As of Monday, none of the carriers have released their rates online on the quote engines. Even if Covered CA does have rates on their website tomorrow, many of the carriers may not have their non-Exchange plans available. We may not be able to see a complete picture of the marketplace until all plans are released and available online through the quote engines.
Once all the rates are available, then your certified insurance agent will be able to help you by running comparison reports of all the available options. We will be able to provide one-stop shopping of all plans available in the marketplace, inside or outside of the Exchange.
Just to recap. The two Exchanges account for only one portion of the total marketplace. There will also be individual health plans and group health plans available outside of these 2 State exchanges. Carriers that offer standardized (or metallic level) health plans within the Exchanges, also have to offer these same identical plans outside of the exchanges, and at the same prices. However, outside, carriers may also offer a broader selection of plans, in addition to the metallic plans.
Consumers and businesses are free to choose health plans either within the exchanges, or outside. But if you want to apply for a tax credit or subsidy, either as an individual or as a business, then you have to apply for a plan within one of the exchanges.
Comparing Health Plans
One thing to remember when comparing standardized metallic plans across different insurance carriers and when compared against non-standardized plans. Since benefit levels and coverage are regulated and standardized, there will not be much difference when comparing metallic plans across carriers. However, insurance carriers are still allowed to vary premiums and provider networks. These two will be the two most important features to pay attention to when comparing carriers.

Decision Time For Small Employer Groups (50 or fewer employees)
If you have an existing Small Group Plan, the following are some possible options that you may need to decide:
• Do nothing. Allow your plan to renew at the regularly scheduled renewal date in 2014. At that time, all ACA regulations and prices will be imposed. (An exception would be grandfathered plans prior to 3/23/2010).
• Renew early on Dec. 1st. Take advantage of carriers’ promotional RAF’s. Lock in rates and plans for 12 months. Delay impact of most of ACA-imposed regulations.
• Use Dec. 1st Early Renewal to change plans and lock in rates for 12 months.
• Use Dec.1st carrier RAF promotions to change to a more favorable rate or plan at another carrier.
• Renew on Jan. 1st to change to an ACA-compliant plan, and accept new rules on probation and family ratings.
• Change to another carrier on Jan. 1st or later (even after you have early renewed on Dec. 1st).
• Ask your Tax Advisor to help you calculate if your company may qualify for a Tax Credit. If so, you may want to consider buying an Exchange and ACA-compliant plan on Jan. 1st.

These decisions are complicated. Circumstances vary and every company’s options are different. You should consult with a certified insurance agent before making a decision.
Decision Time For Individuals and Families
If you already have an existing individual health plan. You may have to decide on one of these possible options. The following example is based on someone on an Anthem Blue Cross plan:
5. Do nothing. Allow Anthem to map your current plan to a comparable 2014 ACA-compliant plan on Jan. 1st. You will still have the opportunity, until March 31, to change to any other plan, inside or outside the Exchange.
6. If you have a grandfathered plan (prior to March 23, 2010), you may keep your plan and remain unchanged, except for the rate.
7. Use Anthem’s calculator tools online to compare plans and decide whether to change plans or not, and if so, whether to move to an Exchange or Non-Exchange plan.
8. Use the Covered CA Exchange’s coveredca.com online subsidy calculator to estimate if you and your family may qualify for a subsidy. If so, you may want to consider applying for an Exchange plan for Jan. 1. (Please keep in mind that if you apply for a subsidy, you will be required to disclose financial, personal and tax return info, which will be verified by different Govt. entities.)

These decisions are complicated. Circumstances vary and every individual’s options are different. You should consult with a certified insurance agent before making a decision.

Tips
• Anthem will be providing online decision tools: www.healthcareform4you.com, www.changemycoverage.com.
• The Exchange’s Covered California website will provide calculator tools for estimating if you might be eligible for a subsidy. www.coveredca.com.
• Your certified insurance agent will have powerful online Quote Engine tools to help you compare all plans in the marketplace, both inside and outside the Covered CA Exchange.
• Please remember that everyone’s personal situation is different. What may be the right move for a friend or family member may not be the right move for you. You have to tailor the decision to your own circumstances.

Key dates to remember:
• 10/1/2013 — Carriers release their 2014 Rates and Plans, for plans inside as well as outside the Covered California Exchange.
• 1/1/2014 — Implementation of the ACA (or Obamacare). All plans sold with this effective date or later must be ACA-compliant.
• 10/1/2013 – 3/31/2014 — Open Enrollment Period for all Individual and Family plans.
• 3/31/2014 — Last effective date to enroll into an Individual/Family plan without a special qualifying event.
• 10/15/2014 – 12/6/2014 — Open Enrollment Period for 1/1/2015 plans.

Phil Lee
800-286-7445
www.Health-Insurance.com
www.HealthPlanTalk.com

Health Care Reform (ACA) Implementation Jan. 1st, 2014 – California Updates

Latest Updates

Individuals and Families
• Insurance Carriers are expected to release their health plan offerings for 2014 on Oct. 1st.
• The major carriers offering Individual/Family plans in the Bay Area will be Anthem Blue Cross, Blue Shield, Health Net and Kaiser.
• Individual & Family purchase mandates and penalties will go into effect on Jan. 1st. Large Employer Group (50+ Employees) mandates and penalties, however, have been postponed to 1/1/2015.

Small Employer Groups (50 or fewer employees)
• Model Notices — All Employers are required to give “Model Notices” to all their employees by Oct. 1st, and to new hires within 14 days of hire. This is a Dept. of Labor mandated notice, that talks about employees’ and dependents’ options, under ACA, to employer and individual health coverage, Exchanges, subsidies and tax credits.
• Previously, this Model Notice law carried a penalty to Employers of $1,000 per employee for non-compliance. Last week, the Dept. of Labor announced a waiver of the penalty for non-compliance. But they still want employers to send out those notices.
• Anthem Blue Cross will not be offering any Small Group health plans within the Covered California Exchange. But they will be offering a wide selection of non-standardized plans outside of the Exchange.

Large Employer Groups (50+ employees)
• Model Notices — Penalties waived, see above.

Medicare Individuals
If you are on Medicare, you are mostly unaffected by the implementation of ACA on Jan. 1st.

Phil Lee

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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