Ask Colleen King

All the questions you’ve had about health insurance, life insurance, annuities and long term care insurance (but were afraid to ask)

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Entries Tagged as 'Individual Health Insurance'

Health savings accounts and tax time–how do they go together?

March 10th, 2010 No Comments

When people understand them, many like the idea of health savings accounts. They aren’t for everyone, but no one type of health care coverage is. Otherwise, we’d all have the same plan, and health care reform would have hit by now.
What does a health savings account (HSA) have to do with tax time? Well, if [...]

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If you think a 39% increase in California health premiums are bad, did you hear about Georgia?

February 24th, 2010 No Comments

Anthem Blue Cross should thank Blue Cross/Blue Shield of Georgia for coming up with something causing even more outrage than they did. An article in today’s Atlanta Journal-Constitution tells the story of a gentleman who had a 72% increase in premium. On the surface it looks like maybe one of the reasons was because he [...]

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I’ve got insurance, why does care for the indigent or uninsured matter to me?

February 20th, 2010 No Comments

I know I’m not a political or social services writer, but our pals at the L.A Times Wednesday had an interesting article on how the County of Los Angeles reimburses physicians when they care for the uninsured.

How does this affect your health insurance premiujms? The Physicians Services for Indigents Program in L.A. County was paying [...]

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And the Anthem rate increase debate rages on–still?

February 15th, 2010 No Comments

Well, it’s been just over a week since the rate increase heard around the world hit and people are still going

Anthem Blue Cross, Woodland Hills, CA

nuts. President Obama has expressed outrage. Kathleen Sebelius isn’t satisfied. California Department of Insurance Commissioner Steve Poizner allegedly said that people shouldn’t buy from Anthem Blue Cross (I say allegedly [...]

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Anthem Blue Cross is raising individual policy rates–it’s that time again?

February 10th, 2010 No Comments

I would have gotten to writing this sooner but I’ve been talking/emailing with many of my clients today about the Los Angeles Times story today talking about Anthem Blue Cross’s March 1 rate increase. The story is claiming an average of 30-39% in increases.
First of all, we all know the media loves controversy and shock [...]

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Health care reform and the contribution of Rep. Joe Wilson

September 26th, 2009 No Comments

It’s been a couple of weeks now since the great ’shout heard around the world’ by Rep. Joe Wilson’s (R-SC),constituting a serious breech of etiquette for Congress, but what it brought to light appears to have drastically changed what will happen with a specific portion of the proposals in health care reform.
What set Rep. Wilson [...]

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Health Savings Accounts–the 2010 figures are in!

September 14th, 2009 2 Comments

Health Savings Accounts (HSAs) remain a popular adjunct to qualified high deductible health plans in finding ways to save on health insurance premiums. There are individual health plans and group health plans that you can get that will allow you to open an HSA. For a list of what you can and can’t use the [...]

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Health Savings Accounts and their impact on the cost of care–is there one?

August 26th, 2009 No Comments

Health insurance is on everyone’s mind these days–either you don’t have it, can’t get it and want it, you’re upset about what you are paying for it, or you turned on the daily news and there it is, the topic is right in your face again.
A Health Savings Account (HSA) is an account that you [...]

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Health Care reform, or health insurance reform–be careful what you ask for

July 25th, 2009 4 Comments

This article was put out by the Associated Press on July 4 and it brings out a lot of points that people aren’t aware of within the European health care systems. You know, the ‘free’ ones that everyone thinks we should go to. Well, I’ve tried to edit it down a bit because it’s long, [...]

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When buying health insurance, let your agent help decide what in your health history is relevant.

June 29th, 2009 1 Comment

Health insurance remains one of those things that most people still find confusing. For group health insurance, disclosing your health history helps determine the rates your employer gets. For individual health insurance, it determines not only rates, but whether or not you will even be accepted!

Focusing on individual health insurance, all carriers ask about whether [...]

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