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Large Business, Or Small? Under Obamacare, Maybe You’re Both

By Emily Bazar December 15, 2015

Obamacare challenges aren’t over for businesses. Starting in January, companies employing 50 to 100 workers face complicated and seemingly contradictory new rules that will affect what kind of insurance they offer and how much they and their workers will pay for it. Wouldn’t you know it, one rule defines them as large businesses and another […]

On Medicare? Time To Pay Attention

By Emily Bazar November 18, 2015

More than 5 million Californians get their health insurance from Medicare, the federal health insurance program for people 65 and over, and for people under 65 who have certain disabilities. There’s a lot going on with Medicare right now. Premiums will rise next year for about one-third of its Part B enrollees. (I’ll help you decipher […]

Different Due Process For 2 Million On Medi-Cal

By Emily Bazar November 10, 2015

Ben Fallstead, 28, was diagnosed several years ago with babesiosis, a tick-borne disease that left him exhausted, wracked with fevers and chronic joint pain and unable to hold a job. After going through several antibiotics, his specialist prescribed one that brought him some relief. “I was just getting to the point where I felt semi-normal,” he […]

Choose Health Plan With More Than Pocketbook In Mind

By Emily Bazar October 27, 2015

If you’re not already in the midst of picking your health coverage for next year, you soon may be. If at all possible, please don’t base your decision solely on the cost of monthly premiums. Let’s say you have asthma. Out of 10 major Health Maintenance Organizations (HMOs) recently ranked in California, three received a […]

Pregnant And Uninsured? You Have Options.

By Emily Bazar October 13, 2015

Did you recently have or adopt a baby, get married, or move to California from another state? Perhaps you lost your job – and your health insurance with it. These are some of life’s common events that trigger special health insurance enrollment opportunities, which allow you to buy or switch plans outside of limited open […]

Extracting The Pain From Your Dental Plan

By Emily Bazar September 29, 2015

Brushing and flossing are key to your dental health. So is choosing the right dental coverage. While dental insurance doesn’t command the attention that medical insurance does, it also can have significant implications for your pocketbook. You know exactly what I mean if you have the most common type of health insurance (more on that […]

Don’t Accept Drug Prices Lying Down

By Emily Bazar September 15, 2015

If you haven’t experienced it yourself, you’ve no doubt heard about the outrageous — and rapidly growing — prices of certain prescription medications. The average price of about one year of cancer-drug therapy has skyrocketed from $10,000 (or less) before 2000 to more than $100,000 by 2012, according to a recent Mayo Clinic study. The […]

How To Price Shop For Medical Treatment

By Emily Bazar September 1, 2015

Whether you get your health insurance from your employer, Covered California or the open market, more of you are picking — or being forced into — high-deductible plans. Although these plans come with relatively cheap premiums, you must spend thousands of dollars out of pocket before your coverage kicks in. In theory, you’ll be less […]

Obamacare Tax Already Affecting Worker Health Plans

By Emily Bazar August 18, 2015

For the millions of Californians with job-based health coverage, this one’s for you. And it’s a doozy. Starting in 2018, a hefty Obamacare excise tax — known informally as the “Cadillac tax” — will target high-cost health insurance plans offered by employers. Don’t be fooled by the 2018 start date. Some employers are taking steps […]

Go Beyond The Headlines For Rate Hike Reality

By Emily Bazar August 4, 2015

Some Californians got good news last week about the price of their health insurance. But as always, it pays to know the details. Covered California, the state health insurance exchange, announced that its premiums will rise by a weighted average of 4 percent next year. This year’s increase was 4.2 percent. Both were welcome surprises […]