Medicare's Path

Not to any one's surprise but the end of April's Trustees Report found that Medicare is on an unsustainable path.  The report projects that the Medicare Trust Fund will be depleted by 2024.  So then what?  No leadership means that nothing is getting done about it.  Just think about it, how many people do you know that are in their early 70's right now.  In twelve years (2024) they will be in their early to mid 80's.  How many people do you know in their early to mid 80's.  We know quite a few.  What are we going to do with all those current 70 year olds?  Whichever way our politicians wish to go, one thing  is for sure; We need to get employment back up and strong.  That should be our first priority. 

We know that Medicare is the life line for our aging population.  If you have any questions about Medicare or would like to find out about health insurance for the under 65 group, please check out our website at www.ansainsuranceservices.com .  We look forward to connecting with you.

Health Insurance Plan Types - Fun Fact

Interesting fact from Kaiser Family Foundation in regards to group insurance plans.  According to the foundation 84% of employers only offer one type of health plan.  But more than 54% of covered workers are employed in a company that offers more than one type of plan.  So what does this mean? Well for starters it means that the majority of people work for larger companies that offer more than one plan.  In the past only the large companies could offer more than one plan type.  Even now most employers want to keep things simple while keeping there costs down. Which is why we see so many companies only offering one plan type.  But today carriers are making it simpler to add multiple plan types for one company.  In addition to the carriers, we are seeing companies like CalChoice, becoming more competitive in pricing and in ease of use.  And from our experience we are seeing more companies willing to wrap with Kaiser as well.  This is all good for the employees and as they simplify multiple plan offerings it should make for happier employees and happier employers.

If you would like more information on multiple plan offerings with any health carrier please contact us at (714)680-5900 or at our website www.ansainsuranceservices.com . 

The 2013 Maximum Annual Contribution numbers for HSA's have been published.  The maximum contribution for individual has gone up to $3250 from 2012's max of $3100.  The maximum contributions for families has gone up to $6450 from the 2012's max of $6250.  We have seen a large push from other health plans to HSA's.  Knowing the maximum contributions is an important part of making these plans work for the consumer.  Properly funded HSA's make for a highly satisfied consumer, but HSA's that are not properly funded do just the opposite. 
If you have any questions on HSA's or other health care issues, please contact us at (714)680-5900.

Ansa Insurance Services prides itself on creating an educated consumer of both health insurance and life insurance.  Please feel free to check out our website at www.ansainsuranceservices.com .

Although 90% of our daily focus is on insurance, both health and life, we are small business owners, facing the same challenges as most of our clients.  It is in this mode that I write this today.  In a little over a week, Lisa Boyajian (half of Ansa) will be leaving for Sacramento with the Legislative Committee from Santa Fe Springs Chamber of Commerce. She will be meeting with several elected officials to discuss issues that relate to the business community.  If you would like her to bring your  concerns to the meeting, please feel free to contact her at lisa@ansainsuranceservices.com .  Our elected officials need to know what is going on here with all of us. 

If you have any questions relating to health insurance or life insurance please feel free to come to our website and browse.  www.ansainsuranceservices.com . If you still have questions, please call us at (714)680-5900. 

FYI - Anthem Blue Cross has relaxed some of it's underwriting guide lines for individuals.  If you have been rated up or declined in the past for a health condition or a particular medication, contact us and we can see if you would benefit from these new guide lines. 

Also check us out on twitter - we linked a great article on health care to it today.  It is very informative. Lisa Angela @ AnsaHealthLife

If you have information on health care and would like us to post it on our blog, please contact us at angela@ansainsuranceservices.com .  You can also find out more about us on our web page at www.ansainsuranceservices.com .

Making The Health Care Reform Law Worse Than It Already Is!

Wouldn't you know it our government is acting goofy all over again.  Two weeks ago the house voted to subsidize lower student loans by taking the money from the preventative care fund included in the Health Care Reform Law.  Really!  As if the health care law isn't enough of a mess, they want to make it messier - for politics!  Whether you like the law or not, let's not complicate it more than it already is (and it is complicated).  What is needed is simplification not more mess.  Shame on congress.  

If you have questions regarding the health care reform law, you are welcome to contact us at www.ansainsuranceservices.com .

Personal Thoughts on Health Carriers Trend

Here we are and it is already October 2011.  Before we know it we will be in the full swing of 2012.  How fast time goes when you have your head down pushing through life's obstacles.  We will be at 2014 in hearts beat at this rate.  What does that mean to someone in the health insurance industry?  It means that we will be seeing more change at rates we have never seen before.  As I contemplate those changes I can't help but think what the landscape of those changes will look like.

I believe that one of the biggest changes we will see are carriers that move from being all to everyone to offering a highly specialized product to certain groups.  No longer will we see multiple carriers with similar products and pricing.  We might possibly see one carrier move away from group benefits all together, another carrier that specializes in small mom and pop companies with lower paid employees. They may specialize in high deductible plans, moving away from HMO's all together. We will see another carrier that offers dozens of plans to employer groups of various economic backgrounds. Making sure that every employee within that company can have a plan that offers a level of service that they can afford.  If they make more money, they can buy a richer plan and vise-verse.  We will see one captive carrier dominate the field with it's streamlined practices and no frills service.  Who will dominate the medicare supplemental group?  I believe that one carrier will.  Sure the other carriers may keep plans available to people not in their marketing focus.  But they will keep the cost so high for those products it wont make sense for anyone to be on those plans.

Will this be better for the consumer?  Maybe.  Hopefully.  Will this be better for the broker?  I don't know yet.  It seems to me that people will still need help navigating this complex world.  And as long as there is a need, we still may have a job to do.

To find out more about a specific plan or carrier for you or your company please check out our website at www.ansainsuranceservices.com.