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More Time To Avoid The Obamacare Tax Penalty

By Emily Bazar April 8, 2014

In my last column, I warned you that March 31 was your last chance to sign up for a health plan from Covered California or the private market if you wanted to get health coverage this year. So much for that. You now have until 11:59 p.m. on April 15 to complete your application if […]

Last Chance: The Obamacare Deadline Is Here

By Emily Bazar March 25, 2014

Here it comes, folks, the deadline that I have been harping on for months: March 31 marks the end of Obamacare’s inaugural open-enrollment period and your last chance to sign up for a health plan through the state’s health insurance exchange, Covered California, or the private market. Your last chance, that is, until the next […]

CoveredCA’s “Reset” Problem

By Emily Bazar February 25, 2014

Q: What was my password again? $359 million dollars. That’s how much the state of California awarded Accenture to build and run CoveredCA.com, the insurance exchange website that has changed the way many of us buy health plans. When it announced the contract in 2012, Covered California boasted that Accenture would develop a “consumer-friendly web […]

Managing Your Money Under Obamacare

By Emily Bazar February 11, 2014

My inbox is brimming with your personal Obamacare stories, and most of them aren’t joyous odes to the new health law. Sure, I’ve received a handful of emails from satisfied customers, but most of the happy people don’t have much reason to contact me. Instead, I hear from those who are stuck, justifiably frustrated and […]

Getting Lost In Obamacare’s Mazes

By Emily Bazar January 28, 2014

To the people who run Covered California, the Medi-Cal program and health insurance companies: I know what a massive, confusing experiment Obamacare is. I know you’re creating new rules, building new computer systems, hiring new staff members and enrolling hundreds of thousands of Californians in health coverage, all under a very tight – if not unrealistic – deadline. […]

Obamacare’s Other Story: Medi-Cal Has Its Own Glitches

By Emily Bazar January 14, 2014

State officials have been crowing that more than 400,000 Californians have enrolled in plans through the state’s health insurance exchange, Covered California. However, another important statistic is getting lost in the exchange hubbub, and it has to do with Medi-Cal, the state’s publicly funded Medicaid program that insures low-income residents. Medi-Cal is huge. In previous columns, […]

HSAs, COBRA: Do They Mesh With Obamacare?

By Emily Bazar December 26, 2013

This is a critical moment in the evolution of Obamacare – and of this column. Tens of thousands of you already have enrolled in health plans that will kick in a few days from now, if they haven’t already. Many more of you, I’m willing to bet, remain on the sidelines waiting for the drop-dead […]

Obamacare Deadline Looming. Are You Ready?

By Emily Bazar December 17, 2013

Calling all procrastinators: There’s still time! Granted, I wagged my figurative finger at you in previous columns, warning you that Dec. 15 was the deadline to sign up for health insurance from Covered California or the open market if you want it to kick in Jan. 1. But things have changed. You now have until Dec. 23 […]

Obamacare Affects Immigrants, Too

By Emily Bazar December 3, 2013

California has more immigrants than any other state. At least one in four Californians – more than 10 million people – were born in another country. And they’re a diverse bunch: Some immigrants, like my parents, are naturalized U.S. citizens. Others are green card holders. Some live here illegally. In addition, there are many thousands of people […]

Planes, Trains, And Obamacare

By Emily Bazar November 19, 2013

About 130,000 Americans pick up and move somewhere else every single day, the U.S. Census Bureau estimates. And guess who are among the most mobile? We itchy Californians. Perhaps you’re wondering what moving around has to do with Obamacare. Quite a lot, actually. Your health plan options – and prices – vary by geography, and the […]