Anthem Blue Cross releases new plans for 2011

Anthem Blue Cross of California has recently released several new California Health Insurance plans available to Individuals and Families. All new plans are Health Care Reform compliant and offer;

• Free wellness doctor visits, including physicals and O.B.G.Y.N services
• Children under 19 years old qualify for guaranteed issue health insurance regardless of any pre-existing medical condition
• Children under age 26 may remain on their parents policies

Anthem continues to lead the pack of California Insurance companies offering affordable HMO's, PPO's and Health Savings accounts. With a wide variety of plans available, individuals and families can locate a plan to meet any budget. Compare health insurance rates online and begin saving today.

Bad News for HSA Insurance Plans

Effective January 1, 2011 individuals and families that currently have a high deductible Health Savings Account, aka HSA will no longer be able to purchase "over the counter" medications through their HSA expense account.

The new law (which is part of our newly passed Health Care Reform 2010 package) removes over the counter drugs not prescribed by a physician from being paid from an HSA, FSA, or HRA on a tax free basis. Additionally if you use HSA funds for non qualified expenses you will face a higher penalty, increasing from 10% - 20%.

To learn more about HSA accounts visit QuoteBroker's website or receive an instant Health Insurance Quote or HSA online.

Health Insurance Buyers Guide

Consumer Tips-Purchasing Health Insurance

Whether you choose a fee-for-service plan or a form of managed care, you must examine benefits summary or an outline of your desired coverage, and check the description of policy benefits, exclusions, and provisions that makes it easier to understand a particular policy and compare it with others.

Compare Plan Benefits

Think about your health insurance needs and current situation and future outlook. For example: Do you need maternity coverage? Do you want coverage for your whole family or just yourself? Are you concerned with preventive care and checkups? Or are you better off with managing a plan that might restrict your choice somewhat but give you wider coverage and more convenience?

Here are some of the things to look at when choosing and comparing health insurance plans.

Your Insurance Checklist

Make an insurance checklist to compare and check for the following key health insurance items: general insurance plan features and benefits, agency services, and health coverage options of the health-care plans that you are thinking about buying.

• Covered medical service
• Inpatient hospital services 
• Outpatient surgery  
• Physician visits (in the hospital) 
• Office visits
• Skilled nursing care
• Medical tests and X-rays
• Prescription drugs 
• Mental health care 
• Drug and alcohol abuse treatment
• Home health care visits 
• Rehabilitation facility care 
• Physical therapy 
• Speech therapy 
• Hospice care 
• Maternity care 
• Chiropractic treatment 
• Preventative care and checkups 
• Well-baby care 
• Dental care 
• Other covered services 
• Are there any medical limits, or preexisting conditions that will affect 
• What types of utilization review or pre authorization procedures are included? 
• Costs of the plan, premium, deductible and maximum out of pocket

Selecting a plan can be confusing, especially considering all of the moving parts above. When you are ready to compare your insurance options, you can use an online Health Insurance brokerage firm www.quotebroker.com This is the simplest way to locate affordable health insurance in your state without any sales jibber. Shop, compare plan and apply online in minutes. (800) 783-0802

July 1 2010 Federal Health Insurance Pools Introduced

Today many individuals will have their first opportunity to participate in the Federal Health Insurance risk pools, which are special programs created by state legislatures to provide a safety net for the "medically uninsurable These are people who have been denied health insurance coverage because of a pre-existing health condition, or who can only access private coverage that is restricted or has extremely high rates.

• Each of the state risk pool-type programs is different. Generally, the programs operate as a state-created nonprofit Association overseen by a board of directors made up of industry, consumer and state insurance department representatives. The board contracts with an established insurance company to collect premiums and pay claims and administer the program on a day-to-day basis. Insurance benefits vary, but risk pools typically offer benefits that are comparable to basic private market plans -- 80/20 major medical and outpatient coverage, a choice of deductible and co-payments. Maximum lifetime benefits vary by state from as low as $350,000 to $2 million.  
• Generally, there are no exclusions. However, risk pools do have waiting periods for coverage of pre-existing conditions to make sure individuals pay for continual coverage and the program can operate financially sound. Without waiting periods, the concern is that too many people could fore-go paying for insurance until they had a high cost claim, and the programs could not function financially. However, under the federal portability legislation, people who have had continuous coverage in the group market, not broken by more than 63 days, can access coverage in risk pools without any waiting periods.  
• Risk pool insurance generally costs more than regular individual insurance, but the premiums are capped by law in each state to protect the individual from exorbitant costs. The caps range from as low as 125 percent of the average for comparable private coverage in some states, up to 200 percent of the average or more in other states. Most states offer coverage at less than 150 percent of the average. For a snap shot of your State's private insurance rates visit QuoteBroker.com
• All state risk pools inherently lose money and need to be subsidized. While the individuals in risk pools pay somewhat higher premiums, roughly 50 percent of overall operating costs need to be subsidized. Subsidy mechanisms also vary from state to state -- some states assess all insurance carriers, HMO's and other insurance providers; others provide an appropriation from state general tax revenue; some states share funding of loss subsidies with the insurance industry using an assessment of insurance carriers and providing them a tax credit for the assessment, or other states have a special funding source, such as a tobacco tax, or a hospital or health care provider surcharge.
• It is important to note that risk pools are not created expressly to serve the indigent or poor who cannot afford health insurance. Risk pools are designed to serve people who would not otherwise have the right to purchase health insurance protection. The indigent can access coverage through state medical assistance, Medicaid or similar programs. However, some state risk pools do have a subsidy for lower income, medically uninsurable people.

Most insurance companies will accept minor to moderate pre-existing medical conditions. In some cases the insurance company may raise an individuals quoted rate from 10-50% which is far less than the state's 125-200% rate increase. Always shop for the best health insurance rates. Online health insurance quotes will provide you with a good comparison tool to shop, compare company prices and apply online.