West Los Angeles Health Insurance Agent suggest to review your Health Insurance

With all the changes in the Health Insurance Industry there has been never a more important time than now to review with me, your agent in West Los Angeles, your current health insurance.

What is your yearly deductible and out-of-pocket maximum, which will renew in January? Does it make sense for you to move into a plan which follows the new health care reform, or should you stay on your "grandfathered plan "? Though the premiums of these new plans are slightly higher, but they also come with great incentives, such as preventive care at zero cost to you.

Take the time to review your plan for the next year. Changing plans or companies might increase your benefits and save money!

The advantages of the new plans "non-grandfathered Plan"versus the old "grandfathered plans" are:

• No cost sharing for Immunization or Preventive Care
• No discrimination in favor of highly compensated individuals
• Allow individuals to choose OB-GYN without referral
• Allow individuals to choose pediatricians for child's primary care provider
• Allow Emergency Services without pre-authorization and treat as In-Network-Provider

Brentwood Insurance Agent inform of Estate Tax Law changes in 2011. - Death and Taxes: 2011 Estate Tax Laws

Brentwood one of the most beloved areas on the Westside of Los Angeles, will be hard hit with the 2011 Estate Tax Laws.

Many of us own home in the 1Mio- 2 Mio range and have 401k savings and other investments. Read this interesting article and see your possible tax implications.

Senior Market Sales, Inc. - Death and Taxes: 2011 Estate Tax Laws

Do you know that universal life insurance and annuities are great vehicles of tax-exempt investments.

What does "grandfathered status" in the health care reform law mean ?

Wondering what "grandfather" or "grandfathered plan " means in the health care reform law.

If an employer keeps the same coverage it had on March 23, 2010 – the date the law took effect – the plan may be considered a “grandfathered” plan.

This means the plan may be exempt from some of the requirements of the health care reform law. However, certain changes must be made to all plans, whether they’re grandfathered or not.

The following changes must be made to all plans:

* No lifetime benefit maximum limits

* Dependent coverage for adult children up to age 26

* No annual limits on certain types of benefits

* No pre-existing conditions exclusions for children under age 19

If certain changes in coverage are made after the law’s effective date, the plan will not be a grandfathered plan.

This means the plan will also see the following changes:

* 100% coverage for preventive care in network.

* No prior authorization for emergency services or higher cost-sharing for out-of-network emergency services

* Coverage of routine patient costs for clinical trials of life-threatening diseases, starting in 2014

How do you loose your grandfather status ?

The following changes to a

plan will result in the loss of a grandfathered status:

* Eliminating all (or substantially all) benefits to diagnose

or treat a particular condition

*

Increasing coinsurance by any amount above the level set

on March 23, 2010

* Increasing fixed amount cost sharing (other than

copays) more than the sum of medical inflation plus

15 percentage points from the level of March 23, 2010

* Increasing copays by an amount that exceeds the greater

of (1) a total percentage (measured from March 23, 2010)

that is more than the sum of medical inflation plus

15 percentage points, or (2) $5 times medical inflation,

* Reducing employer or employee organization

contributions based on the cost of coverage or a formula

by more than 5 percentage points below the contribution

rate on March 23, 2010

* Reducing an overall annual dollar limit or adding a new

overall annual dollar limit, compared with what was in

effect on March 23, 2010

* Ensuring that consumers switch to a grandfathered plan

that, compared with the current plan, has fewer benefits

or higher cost sharing as a means of avoiding new

consumer protections.

* Buying or merging with another plan to avoid complying

with the health care reform law

September 23 - Big Changes in the Health Insurance Industry

September 23 was crucial because that’s when the biggest changes (so far) took effect in the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA).

Here’s a summary from the government’s website on healthcare reform.

After September 23, 2010 on any new group insurance plans, insurer’s can’t:
* Deny coverage to kids with pre-existing conditions
* Put lifetime limits on benefits
* Cancel your policy without proving fraud
* Deny your claim without a chance for appeal


And consumers can:
* Receive cost-free preventive services
* Keep young adults on a parent’s plan until age 26
* Choose a primary care doctor, ob/gyn and pediatrician
* Use the nearest emergency room without penalty

These changes take place for any policy issued or renewed after September 23 for group insurance.

So that is the good news, but here are the bad news:

In the individual insurance world in CA only few carriers are implementing the health care reform on September 23. Only Aetna and Anthem have updated their plans to comply with the reform. Kaiser Permanente, Blue Shield and Healthnet will implement the reform at a later time, most likely by January 2011. Unfortunately Anthem rates have not been approved yet by the insurance commissioner, so that their currently only few Anthem individual plans available.

Increased coverage could lead to increased premiums. According to this report by the Kaiser Family Foundation, average health insurance premiums have increased 114 percent just since 2000 – healthcare reform isn’t going to immediately reverse that trend. One new report claims that American families are paying 14 percent more for their health insurance coverage this year than last year – an average increase of $482. Most of that jump isn’t because of higher insurance rates – it’s because employers are paying less of the cost. And that’s another trend that will probably continue – yet another study says that next year, 63 percent of employers will hike the percentage their employees contribute and 46 percent will increase employee out-of-pocket costs.
Some health insurance providers would rather drop than switch. Anthem, Aetna, Cigna have announced they won’t offer any more health insurance policies solely covering children, because of the pre-existing condition provisions of the new law.

The “full force” of healthcare reform doesn’t happen until 2014. This is just the appetizer – and very likely a catalyst for increased debate over health care and our government’s role in it. Stay tuned.
In the meantime, if you’re looking for health insurance right nowcontact info@solidhealthinsurance,com