Ask Colleen King » Group Health Insurance

Is the insurance plan for people with pre-existing conditions working?

Colleen — Thu, 23 Feb 2012 22:34:58 +0000

Well, sort of. According to this terrific article by Allison Bell, the Pre-existing Condition Insurance Plan (PCIP) almost 49,000 more people in the US have coverage since starting in August 2010. But this plan, which is managed by the Federal Government, is having higher than expected claims. Are you kidding me? The PCIP is for Continue reading →

Expensive health care, mediocre results–really?

Colleen — Wed, 30 Nov 2011 12:55:05 +0000

While Americans continue to brag about their marvelous levels of care, well at least some Americans, our quality apparently isn’t up to snuff. Life expectancies, hospitalization rates, cost of care, we’re trailing on an international level. America rates well in cancer care though, according to this article. Switzerland’s system is touted as being effective, and Continue reading →

Health care reform made all preventive care free, right?

Colleen — Fri, 23 Sep 2011 15:46:28 +0000

In the effort to increase access to care the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) mandated that preventive services be covered on newly developed plans with no share of cost and before a deductible is met. Or so we thought–Check out this article from the US Department of Labor. One thing that was not Continue reading →

Health Insurance, the letter of creditable coverage and why it’s important.

Colleen — Wed, 23 Mar 2011 15:52:31 +0000

When you change health insurance plans, or just drop coverage, your previous carrier will send you what’s called a Letter of Creditable Coverage. This will show the start and end day of your coverage with them. So what, what does this mean? This could be very important especially if you are moving to a different Continue reading →

What do I do about a ‘child only’ health insurance policy in California?

Colleen — Mon, 24 Jan 2011 00:22:15 +0000

When health care reform was voted in last year, one of the first items that when into effect September 23, 2010 was the guarantee issue of plans to kids under age 19 without regard to pre-existing conditions. Problem with that was that insurance carriers had no idea what the liability was going to be so Continue reading →

So now that health care reform is starting to hit, will it all really work?

Colleen — Thu, 09 Dec 2010 16:43:05 +0000

Once again, Robert Laszewski, the ‘go to’ guy for all things health care reform or industry in general, wrote a very insightful blog post this week on the how the fact that there isn’t bi-partisan support for the health care reform bill could ultimately lead to it’s evisceration. Click here for a brief, terrific article. Continue reading →

Health care reform laws are starting to be successfully challenged in court–or are they?

Colleen — Mon, 11 Oct 2010 06:54:12 +0000

Hello LA, I’m back from vacation and certainly while I was gone there were a lot of things going on in health care reform In Friday’s Los Angeles Times there was an AP article about a federal judge in Detroit who ruled against a challenge contesting the legality of the Federal government requiring people to Continue reading →

The Connection Between Health Care Reform and Preventive Services coverage

Colleen — Wed, 11 Aug 2010 17:59:24 +0000

One of the big things that was to be emphasized by the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) was removing cost barriers to many preventive services. July 14th the announcement was made by the White House as to what those services are–click here for what is the current comprehensive list: Covered Services These services Continue reading →

What’s going to happen with health care reform and individual health plans after September 23, 2010?

Colleen — Tue, 10 Aug 2010 16:14:27 +0000

Remember the old phrase ‘be careful what you ask for, you just might get it?’ Well, Anthem Blue Cross put out an email yesterday to agents advising us that due to the new changes resulting from the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA), also known as health care reform, if you are looking for Continue reading →

What are some key items I need to know when opening a health savings account?

Colleen — Wed, 04 Aug 2010 21:27:27 +0000

In my last article I mentioned the first key point with a health savings account (HSA) that in order to use the money to pay for expenses, the expenses MUST occur after the account has been opened. Not necessarily fully funded because you can deposit money and and reimburse yourself after the fact. You just Continue reading →