Videos
Newsom Proposes New Health Insurance Mandate & Tax Penalty
On Governor Newsom's first day in office, Newsom proposed reinstating the tax penalty for not having Affordable Care Act-compliant, comprehensive health insurance coverage. The proposal is in response to the recent removal of the federal tax penalty for not having...
Deciding on your 2019 Health Insurance
As we are now in the middle of the annual Open Enrollment Period for health insurance, it is time to review your 2019 health insurance options before the holidays. Start by reviewing your existing plan and carrier. How has your member experience been with your current...
Oscar Health Continues to Grow in California
Credit: Richard Perry/The New York Times/Redux For most health insurance carriers in California, we are seeing little change in the provider networks or plan offerings. For Oscar, things have certainly changed over the course of 2018. Oscar started offering business...
Trump offers Solution to Cut Medicare Part B Drug Costs
President Trump on October 25th proposed a plan to cut drug costs for Medicare recipients by changing the price negotiation structure for Medicare Part B. From 2011 to 2016, Medicare increased their drug costs for Part B by 59% from $17.6 billion in 2011 to $28...
2019 Open Enrollment Period Has Just Begun!
Starting today, October 15th, 2018 to January 15th, 2019, anyone that is lawfully present California resident can enroll in Affordable Care Act-compliant health insurance without a qualifying life event. During this Open Enrollment Period, you can apply for individual...
Can I Get Subsidized Health Insurance if I am Offered Health Insurance by My Employer?
For most Californians, if you are offered employer-sponsored coverage, you are not eligible for premium tax credits if you apply for a subsidized individual or family health insurance plan through Covered California. One of the questions on a Covered California...
Alphabet’s New $375 Million Investment in Oscar Health
Oscar, an innovative, successful insurance carrier serving Los Angeles, Orange County, and San Francisco for 3 years, has just announced that Alphabet, the parent company of Google, is planning to invest $375 million in the company. Alphabet had previously invested in...
SB 910 May Ban Short-Term Medical Plans in California
With the health insurance tax penalty going away in 2019 for those who do not enroll in Affordable Care Act-compliant health insurance plans, many healthy individuals will be attracted to short-term medical plans as a substitute. Short-term medical plans are designed...
New Restrictions to Medicare Accountable Care Organizations (ACO’s)
The Department of Health and Human Services' Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services just announced on Thursday, August 9th, 2018, changes to the Accountable Care Organizations to help curb unintended costs. Under the Affordable Care Act, Accountable Care...
2019 Individual Health Insurance Premiums Set to Rise 8.7%
Covered California has just released their 2019 individual market rates increase for the 2019 individual health insurance marketplace. The weighted average rate change will be 8.7 percent. For a wide part of Los Angeles (Region 16) will follow the 8.6 percent...