A massive federal database of national health care costs was made public a little while back, according to an article in the Huffington Post. 

If you want an eye opener on just how much prices can vary for the same procedure, we recommend you take a look at the full data set. 

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East Bay

This online calculator provided by Covered California, the new health care exchange taking effect January 1, 2014, will help you estimate how much it will cost you to purchase health insurance in 2014, and the amount of your financial assistance.

If you already have affordable insurance from your employer or a government program like Medicare or Medi-Cal, you will not be eligible for these cost-saving programs and the calculator will not apply to you.

The calculator will put some basic information together and provide you with the estimated monthly cost for insurance, which appears in the calculator as "Your Estimated Monthly Silver Plan Premium" and takes into account any financial assistance you might receive from the government. The calculator also indicates whether your income makes you eligible for Medi-Cal.

This easy and fun calculator estimates your life expectancy.  It was developed by Northwestern Mutual Life, and it tries to predict how long you're likely to live. 

The predictions aren't going to be close if you do have a long-term health issue, but generally it works well. Barring long-term health problems, we are going to live a long time, most was into our late 80s or 90s.

Some of you may be receiving this newsletter for the first time. We have been expanding our outreach efforts, but by all means, if you are not interested in receiving future newsletters, please click the unsubscribe link at the bottom of the page. If we haven't spoken in a while and you have concerns about health insurance that we can help you with, please let us know.

Please ask about additional services and value-added products such as HR administration and online policy management tools. 

"Lynn really helped me in dealing with a declined insurance claim by guiding me through the appeal process and communicating with the insurance provider. She offered continued support until the claim was reviewed and finally resolved. I truly believe that Caffrey Insurance Solutions' dedication in providing insurance as well as exceptional care and support to clients is invaluable."  --Current Individual Client

Alert! 

If You Are Currently Without Coverage, A Temporary Policy May Be The Answer

We are close enough now to January 2014 that a temporary policy may provide a good solution for your insurance needs. Although temporary plans are not guaranteed issue, the underwriting process may be comparatively simple and may meet your needs well until a plan can be issued through Covered California for January 1. In most cases temporary medical coverage can be effective the day after you apply!

Ask us if you want some options if this scenario applies to you. 

Model Notice Requirement

If you are an owner or manager of a business in California and are providing health insurance benefits to your employees, you will be required (before October 1, 2013) to notify your staff of the availability of the Covered California health insurance exchange. We will assist all of our group clients with the forms and specific wording moving forward.

The official Department of Labor Model Notice can be found at HealthCare.Gov or by linking directly here.

Early Renewal Opportunity for Group Plans

As of our latest information, all of the major carriers in California will allow you to "renew" your group policy on December 1st, 2013 to maintain your current plan at 2013 rates. This is an opportunity to shield you from the expected price increases and volatility in the benefits market during the initial first year implementation of full health care reform. We will be assisting all of our group clients with this renewal if requested.

Caffrey Insurance Solutions Presentation on Health Care Reform and How It Will Impact You and Your Business!

Until the beginning of 2014, we will regularly host presentations on the industry health care reform legislation, new rules and how they impact prospective and current group and individual clients. Our goal is to increase your comprehension of all of the issues so that you can continue to make the best choices regarding your benefits.

The session will be on August 16th, 2013 at 9:00 AM in the conference room on the second floor of our offices at 405 14th Street, Suite 204, Oakland, CA 94612. We're centrally located just above the 12th Street Oakland BART Station.

We can handle approximately 20 attendees for these sessions. They are a great opportunity for you to get ahead of the coming changes of Health Care Reform and the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. 

If you are interested in attending, please use the sign up sheet so we can get enough snacks and coffee.

 To sign up, please click here. 

Insurance Carriers Announced for Covered California 

and 

Small Business Health Options Program (SHOP)

Small Business Health Options Program (SHOP) Carriers

• Blue Shield of CA
• Chinese Community Health Plan
• Health Net
• Kaiser Permanente
• Sharp Health Plan
• Western Health Advantage

Covered California Individual and Family Plan Carriers

• Alameda Alliance for Health
• L.A. Care Plan
• Anthem Blue Cross of California
• Molina Healthcare
• Blue Shield of California
• Sharp Health Plan
• Chinese Community Health Plan
• Valley Health Plan
• Contra Costa Health Care Plan
• Ventura County Health Care Plan
• Health Net of California
• Western Health Advantage

What Would Lynn and Gabriel Do?

Q: There are 4 people in my family and we have 4 different health plans. I just found out that my husband was dropped from his Cobra so he is no longer covered at all. You tried to get us one plan, but my husband and I were both rejected. Our premium before was $1500 a month under our combined plans and the coverage wasn't even that good. What can we do?

1. Wait it out. Guaranteed healthcare is coming in January 2014.
2. Your husband can use the County health plan if you qualify financially until January.
3. You both contribute to a group business, but to date you have not considered a group plan. Consider getting some options for a group plan from your brokers; it may be more affordable than you think and you may also be able to use certain tax credits to offset your expenses.
4. One of you should find a job offering benefits. Quickly.

None of the above.

A: When we dealt with a similar scenario, we were inclined to leave this situation alone, except that the husband had no insurance. Fortunately, we discovered this before a formal rejection letter and were able to get him a month by month temporary plan for up to six months. For the wife, we were able to raise the deductible with her current carrier and do something similar for the children. 

Net gain, the premium was reduced to $741 a month beginning in August. So, over the span of five months, the family will save almost $9000. In October, when the Covered California exchange opens for business, we will find them a new guaranteed issue plan (effective January 1 2014) to cover the whole family.

How can we apply creative thinking to your situation?

Federal Poverty Levels for 2013

If your household income is under 400% of the Federal Poverty Level, you are likely to receive subsidies to offset your health insurance premiums considerably.

The table below is an example of the rates a 40-year-old single individual might pay in San Francisco for a Silver tier plan. Depending on your income, your "share" of the monthly premium is the top row listed in each plan. The "share" of the federal government is the premium assistance amount shown in blue below.

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