"Covered California"

Today California's Exchange Board will be meeting to vote on submitting an establishment grant to the Federal Government.  This board has already moved California to the forefront of State Exchanges in the U.S. and it is looking as if it may be one of only a few that are set up and running by the goal date of January 1, 2014.  The Exchange in California will be known as "Covered California".   At this same meeting they will be busy  working on setting regulations for "qualified" health plans.  We should know quite soon what to expect out of such "qualified health plans" and who already meets that criteria to be considered as having a "qualified" health plan.

In addition to the Exchange Board meeting Governor Brown has requested that the State Legislature meet back early to discuss health care in the state.  No dates have been set, but it is looking as if the normal month off in December will be drastically cut short.  There are many agenda items that need to be moved forward now that the election is over and the Affordable Care Act will stand as is.

What we know now is that for those already covered under most carriers in California (Anthem Blue Cross, Blue Shield, Aetna, Kaiser, Cigna, HealthNet and United HealthCare) very little will change.  For those of you on discount plans, you will need to make a substantial change.  Discount plans will in now way be considered "qualified" and thus you will need to move plans or face penalties.  If you have questions about your plan (and it is not from one of the carriers listed above) you can call us and we can help you sort through what you have and find out if you are in good standing. 

You can reach either Lisa Boyajian or Angela Gambino at (714)680-5900 or find us on the web at www.ansainsuranceservices.com .