Ask Colleen King

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 →

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 →

Geez, now this is a drag–the Pre-existing Condition Insurance Plan (PCIP) which was supposed to be such a panacea for the uninsurable apparently was too popular–in 2 months, the program might be stopping enrollment because, get this–the claim costs were 3 times higher than anticipated. Big surprise! You have to realize that when you offer Continue reading →

Well, okay so your broker doesn’t have to be physically down the street, but it’s looking more and more like getting some help in sorting out options from someone when shopping for health insurance, available to you at no cost, makes sense. Several articles talk about rates had shooting up and and people looking for Continue reading →

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 →

In dealing with people day to day, most think California has to be the most expensive state in the nation. Not so, believe it or not, it could be worse. Health care reform, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) were suppose to get us on the road to more affordable health insurance. Notice Continue reading →

Okay, many people are really unhappy with health insurance right now. People either don’t have because it’s unaffordable or they are uninsurable. Or they do, but their rates are going up. So it’s time to call your agent, see what else is available. Well, here’s the problem. The carriers can’t even agree on what needs Continue reading →

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 →

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 →

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 →