Selecting my Health Insurance Coverage

First thing to outline is that picking Insurance is about what is right for you.

When we are looking at coverage, there are a lot of things that jump out at us but what really grabs us is the premium, co-pay and deductible.  But is that enough?

Some of the questions you should ask before you make a decision are the following;

• Are my doctors and hospitals in network
• Should I select a PPO type plan, a hybrid EPO or more a managed care plan like an HMO
• What is the real difference between Bronze, Silver, Gold and Platinum Plans
• How much should I really pay monthly
• Should my family stay on the same plan or should we split our coverage
• Can I qualify for Tax Credits through the exchange like Covered California
• Should I just enroll into COBRA
• Is there a best Insurance Company
• What is my penalty for not having Coverage
• How can I qualify for Coverage
• What kind of support is there if I am very ill

There are many more things to question when you really start looking at this.  A consultation may be a easy way to break this down, we provide consultations at no cost to you.  We are also a no fee Brokerage that provides Carrier Direct Prices.

But here is how you could get started on your own if you are really tight for time;

• First get a list of what plans are available, you do this by getting a quote for all the plans available in your Zip Code 
• Make sure that you are putting the correct age so you have accurate rates to compare
• Check the provider search tool to search for your Doctors and Hospitals
• Understand that the difference is plans is not what is covered but how much you pay when you go to the doctors.  You can view our Essential Benefits Page to see what the law requires a Medical Plan to offer, and it applies to ALL ACA MEDICAL PLANS.
• Have an understanding of the Summary of Benefits and Coverage located in your quote as a tab.  You can learn how your plan covers certain situations.
• Try to run your numbers monthly to how much your deductible and out of pocket is, see which one makes economical sense when its all added up.
• There is no Best Carrier, but there may be a Best Carrier for you.  Each Company has it's strong point, what matters is if that point is what you are looking for.
• If you live in California, you will likely have a penalty for the first several people in your household if you do not have Health Coverage.  Click Here to see how much you may be looking at.
• Generally if you have serious medical concerns, you want an Insurance Firm called a Broker that can step in and help get the ball rolling for what could be described as coordinated care and support.

This should be enough information to provide you a basis of understanding for Health Insurance.  We are also here for any questions, so if there is anything you want help with or are not clear on, please hit our Contact Us Form, or email info@dreilinginsurance.com, and if it is during business hours you can reach us at 424-263-4699.

Run your Quotes Here

Covered California and Tax Credits are a little more complicated, if you qualify for them, great.  But you still need to understand what you need to check to qualify for help, and you also want to understand that if at some point you no longer qualify.

Qualifying for Covered California can be broken down into these areas;

• Is your household size in the income bracket for assistance, check here
• If you are below certain thresholds, you and your family members can be shifted to MediCal or possibly split between Covered California and MediCal.  check here to see where you stand.
• Even if you do financially qualify, do you have a job that offers affordable coverage.  Check here for the number of affordability, but generally if you are required to pay 10% or more of your income on yours only insurance, its unaffordable and you can receive Tax Credits.
• You do need to be legally present in order too receive tax credits, and we all need to provide some documents to Covered CA.  Documents will include Proof of Income, Proof of Citizenship, a Green Card, or a State Issued ID.
• Applications will need to be paid promptly in order to bind your coverage after they are submitted.
• The Plans on Covered CA are offered by Anthem, Blue Shield, Health Net, Kaiser, Oscar and some additional carriers some may not be familiar with such as LA Care or Molina Care.
• The Plans in Covered California are generally the same exact plans offered outside of the exchange.
• Remember, Covered CA is not an Insurance Company, they are a Market Place that takes you to Health Insurance.
• One additional item to remember is the application process, Covered Ca seems very straight forward, but the information you provide to their answers have huge implications.  So understand what you are answering.

Our goal is to provide you with the information that you need to make a more informed decision.  We are not trying to write a book of law on insurance, but we want to give you straight talk answers.  There is also the idea that you need access to your quotes so you can compare the numbers, this will help you verify that you are working with the right Insurance Broker or Agency.

If you are not 100% certain on everything you read here, please reach out to us, we provide no charge consultations and reviews.  Requests can be submitted to info@dreilinginsurance.com, or our Contact Us Form

In addition to providing you access to information, we also respect your right to get information when and how you want to receive it.  We will do everything we can to respect and facilitate that.

We hope this provides you the information you were looking for.  If you would like any additional information or feel more content is needed for your needs, please Contact Us, or email us at info@dreilinginsurance.com.  We can also be reached by phone at 424-263-4699.