California Medical Quotes.com

The most unselfish gift a person can give to another is the purchase of life insurance. The insurance does nothing to help the insured. It is a gift of love to the beneficiary.

I rarely speak with my clients about their life insurance; instead I’ve been focusing on their health insurance benefits. But I lost a client who lived in Southern California recently and his life insurance was completely inadequate to care for his wife and two young children.

If you haven’t reviewed your insurance lately I strongly urge you to do so. Term insurance for most people is quite affordable and the new plans even will return all your premium at the end of the policy term if you don’t die.

Please give me a call at 800-550-0155 and allow me to show you how inexpensive it is to give a gift of love.

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Many of my California Medicare clients really don’t understand Medicare. This should help a little.

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If a doctor has requested a LEEP procedure, it’s because the annual Pap smear indicated the presence of abnormal cervical cells, or cervical dysplasia. It’s important for you to remember that having cervical dysplasia does not mean that the patient has cervical cancer. However, treatment of the abnormal area is imperative to prevent abnormal cervical cells from developing into cervical cancer.

I receive requests for health insurance from women who have had the LEEP procedure and many carriers will decline to issue for a period of time. Below are the underwriting guidelines for some of the major California health insurance companies:

Health Net Must have two normal subsequent cervical cancer screenings; annual follow-up to be considered.

Blue Shield Two normal Pap test 6 months apart following the abnormal Pap. Possible eligibility at higher rate.

Anthem Blue Cross Most cases when followed by 2 consecutive normal Paps (6 months apart). Possible coverage at Tier 1 (standard) Rating

Aetna this is from experience, not from underwriting guide With one normal Pap 6 months after LEEP procedure, can consider at a higher rate. Two normal Paps 6 months apart, likely standard.

About a month ago, I was contacted by a young lady who was paying about $550 per month under Cobra. She had one normal Pap about 7 months after the LEEP procedure. I recommened that she apply for the Aetna policy and received a quote from the company for about $185 per month for an HSA plan. This was a 50% rate up from standard but clearly a much better alternative than continuing her Cobra. My suggestion was to apply now and get something in force.

She chose to wait and see what her next Pap which was scheduled for December would show. Hopefully it will be normal and she can receive a standard rating. But what if it was abnormal? Now she will not only have to continue paying the high price for Cobra, but perhaps has jeapordized her ability to get individual insurance in the future.

Not only is it important to seek out the expertise of a professional insurance agent, but it is just as important to take his or her advice.

I certainly hope this woman has no further issues.

To review your insurance, please go to www.califorinamedicalquotes.com. If you are approaching Medicare or know someone who is confused as to choices, go to www.californiamedicareplans.com.

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The “guru” of health insurance, Paul Zane Pilzer discusses how to protect yourself from catastrophic healthcare costs without going broke.

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Article Link: http://www.webmd.com/medicare/news/20080925/medicare-warns-part-d-changes

Medicare Warns of Part D Changes
Seniors Urged to Check Their 2009 Drug Coverage
By Todd Zwillich

WebMD Health NewsReviewed by Louise Chang, MD Sept. 25, 2008 - Medicare officials on Thursday urged beneficiaries to scrutinize their prescription drug coverage, warning that coverage in the plans may change significantly in 2009.

Kerry Weems, the head of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), said seniors and disabled beneficiaries “may see significant premium increases or changes” in their plans.

It is unclear how drastic the changes will be. Drug plans vary state to state and even county to county. Most of the hundreds of private drug plans nationwide won’t release benefit and cost information until the middle of next month, according to CMS.

But Weems said beneficiaries may see “significant premium increases” in their plans, as well as reduced coverage in Part D’s “gap.” That’s where Medicare stops paying drug benefits after spending reaches $2,510 and doesn’t pick up again until most beneficiaries have spent $5,726 on their medications.

“We encourage individual beneficiaries to review how their plans are changing and what other options are available to them to determine which plan best meets their needs,” Weems told reporters.

Officials said beneficiaries in every state would be able to purchase plans that cover drugs in the gap. The fast majority of those plans cover generic drugs, with only a handful covering a wide range of brand-name drugs.

Vicki Gottlich, a senior policy attorney at the Center for Medicare Advocacy, said “a huge number” of Medicare beneficiaries will end up having to change their plans or confront reduced coverage or higher costs in their existing plans.

But she said it was too early to know how many patients would need to change.

“Its difficult for folks to have to go through the process of having to go through the whole process every year,” said Gottlich, whose group is a critic of Part D’s private-based drug insurance.

Plans are required to notify beneficiaries of changes to their coverage by Oct. 31.

Medicare has two general types of Part D plans: standalone plans and plans that are part of Medicare Advantage managed care packages.

CMS said the average monthly premiums for standalone plans would be $28 in 2009, up $3 from this year. Drug plans folded into Medicare Advantage are set to rise from an average of $16 dollars this year to $17 in 2009.

Open enrollment for new beneficiaries to sign up for Medicare’s Part D prescription drug plan begins Oct 1. It’s also the time, up until Jan. 1, for current beneficiaries to change plan.

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A brief video on why HSA plans can be very beneficial.

You can do a comparison and run quotes of all medical plans at www.californiamedicalquotes.com.

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COBRA allows you to temporarily continue your employer sponsored health coverage (albeit at a relatively high cost) in the event that you are laid-off or otherwise become out of work.  However, while continuing health coverage may be right for some people, there are other options that you can and should consider.

COBRA will likely be the best option for you if:

1) You or a member of your family is currently pregnant.

or

2)  You or a family member have a pre-existing condition that would make it difficult to be accepted in an individual health policy, or would include a rider that would not cover treatment related to the health condition.

However, If you and family members seeking health insurance coverage are relatively healthy there are other options that you should consider that will likely be much more affordable and with a comparable set of benefits.

Alternatives

1.) You can compare individual and family health insurance plans side-by-side here at www.californiamedicalquotes.com and select the plan that best fits your needs.

2.) If you alone have a pre-existing condition, you can stay on COBRA, but enroll your other family members in an indiviudal health plan to save money.

3.) If you believe that you will be unemployed for a short period of time (less than 6 months) you can enroll in a short term health plan.  However, this is a more risky proposition if your unemployment lasts longer than expected.

4.) Research whether you can get health coverage through any association groups for which you are a member.

Not all alternatives will be right for every family’s situation, but there are options available to consider.

Generally speaking, COBRA will allow you to continue coverage for 18 months.  California residents who work for smaller companies may have other rights that can include continuing coverge for up to 36 months.

It’s worth a few minutes of your time to review all the possible choices.  Call us at 800-550-0155 or go to www.californiamedicalquotes.com.

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2009 Low Income Subsidy (LIS) Premium Benchmark Subsidy Amounts

These are the benchmarks for stand alone PDP’s. This determines how much premium would be WAIVED if a Medicare Beneficiary qualified for a Low Income Subsidy (LIS) in each state. (Carlifornia is region 32).

2009 low-income premium subsidy amounts:

Region State(s) Subsidy
1 NH, ME 28.12
2 CT, MA, RI, VT 31.74
3 NY 27.71
4 NJ 30.99
5 DE, DC, MD 30.85
6 PA, WV 29.23
7 VA 31.72
8 NC 33.45
9 SC 32.01
10 GA 29.16
11 FL 21.47
12 AL, TN 29.80
13 MI 32.08
14 OH 28.40
15 IN, KY 33.95
16 WI 38.15
17 IL 30.18
18 MO 31.89
19 AR 26.89
20 MS 31.53
21 LA 27.48
22 TX 25.36
23 OK 29.36
24 KS 33.66
25 IA, MN, MT,
ND, NE, SD, WY 33.19
26 NM 20.55
27 CO 30.17
28 AZ 16.22
29 NV 20.20
30 OR, WA 31.76
31 ID, UT 37.46
32 CA 24.86
33 HI 25.01
34 AK 36.00

You can go to our Medicare site, www.californiamedicareplans.com for more information on the Medicare Prescription Drug Plans (PDP) or call us a 800-550-0155.

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I’ve spoken with many Medicare beneficiaries who are confused with the annual open enrollment for the Medicare Prescription Drug Plan - PDP - and when they can change or buy a Medicare Supplement.

Unlike Medicare Advantage and PDP plans, there is no set time when a Medicare Supplement can be purchased, changed, or dropped. So if you just receive a hugh rate increase from your company because you hit a new age band, it’s time to go shopping.

For example, I just helped a young lady of 75 living in Encino. She was paying $261 for a Plan F with Anthem Blue Cross. Since all plans are exactly the same, she chose to change her insurance to Mutual of Omaha at a monthly savings of almost $70! That’s over $800 per year. And since she did it within 30 days of her birthday, there were no medical questions and the policy was issued on a guaranteed basis.

It pays to use an insurance agent that represents virtually all carriers in California. You can give us a call at 800-550-0155 or go to our Medicare site at www.californiamedicareplans.com. Most people can save hundered by just spending 10 minutes on the phone.

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