Some customers have complained that after applying online their credit card was charged $1.50 and they were wondering why. Obviously, that is not the charge for their first monthly premium, so what is going on here? Why the $1.50 charge on the credit card?

This is called a pre-note. It is a trial run where Kaiser Permanente charges a small amount, in this case one dollar and fifty cents, to the credit card to make sure that charges will go through on this card. It’s to make sure that the path works.

This money will be credited back to your card. Then, if your application is approved, your card will receive a charge for your first month’s premium. In the case of those who apply in the middle of the month, their first charge will be for a month and a half.

Not all cards receive this pre-note charge. Only certain cards that offer the system less certainty of working receive this charge.

Posted: January 21st, 2010 under Kaiser Permanente.
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There has been a change that affects how long a newborn can stay covered under the parent’s group insurance. In the past, a newborn was covered for the first 30 days but only until the end of the month. So, a baby born on the 28th is covered for only 2-3 days, until the 30th or 31st of that month.

Effective 1/1/2010, newborns will be covered for the first 30 days, without the end of the month rule. So, a baby born on January 28th will remain covered until February 28th.

Coverage will be free the first 30 days, but if they enroll the baby with Kaiser, coverage will be backdated to the first of the month. This means they’ll pay for the coverage- just like they would have done before the rule changed. This helps improve KP sales, but also lifts the pressure off of parents from having to make a snap decision, which is often the case when the baby is born at the end of the month.

Tip: When enrolling in a California group health insurance plan due to a pregnancy, especially for your first child, call 1-877-752-4737 after the baby is born. Then, we can look into enrolling the child under the cheaper IFP plan. If you have other children, then, keeping all the kids on the group plan tends to be more cost-effective because there are no extra charges for additional children.

Posted: January 19th, 2010 under California Group.
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The House and the Senate have now both approved bills that include automatic issue health insurance. This would require health insurance companies to approve all American citizens who apply for individual and family health insurance plans. Health insurance companies would no longer be able to deny applicants for pre-existing health conditions. Even applicants with more serious health problems like cancer, heart disease and AIDS will be automatically approved if this part of the healthcare bill goes into effect. Let’s look at some of the pros and cons of automatic issue health insurance coverage.

Pros
1. Health Insurance available to all who can afford it: This huge positive side makes many willing to accept the drawbacks to automatic issue health insurance. Everyone can get coverage! Currently, many are locked into jobs they wish to leave but cannot because they will lose their health insurance. They fear that if they lose their group health insurance plan through their work, they will not qualify for an individual plan, but rather they will be denied. If this goes into effect, no longer will people live in fear of losing their ability to get healthcare coverage. If they have pre-existing health conditions or they come down with something serious, they will still be able to get on an individual health insurance plan.
2. Opportunity to switch coverage: Currently, those with pre-existing health conditions often cannot leave the individual healthcare plan they are currently on. They can’t change plans and they can’t change companies. If they apply to upgrade their current coverage with their current carrier, they will be denied. Also, if they try to change to get individual coverage with a different health insurance company, they will also be denied. Automatic issue health insurance would mean that these individuals with pre-existing health conditions would no longer be trapped on their current health insurance plans.

Cons
1. Increased costs for “healthy” members: Health insurance carriers are currently able to keep their costs down by denying people with certain pre-existing health conditions. If automatic issue health insurance goes into affect, medical insurance carriers would no longer be able to exclude these costly members and would be forced to increase premium costs for all members including the “healthy” members in order to cover these added costs.
2. Decrease in general health of the American people: Automatic issue health insurance would decrease the incentives people have to exercise, sleep and eat right. Decreased incentives to take care of personal health could lead to a less healthy American population which would in turn lead to added costs for all private and public healthcare institutions.
3. Decreased competition and difficulty for new start-up businesses: Currently, startup health insurance companies are able to manage their costs effectively by denying high-cost members with serious pre-existing conditions. Startup companies in this market are extremely vulnerable with automatic issue health insurance. If they end up with an initial membership that includes too many people with pre-existing conditions, they may be driven out of business in a matter of months or years. Fewer entrepreneurs will be willing to take the risk of starting up a health insurance company in light of these factors. It is likely that very few if any new businesses will arise in this market. Those that do face the danger of going bankrupt very quickly. Even some large companies may be seriously shaken or driven out of business by having to accept all new applicants for individual and family health insurance. With less competition in the market and increased expenses for existing health insurance companies, prices for medical plans could increase greatly.

So what do you recommend?
There is a great need in the United States to make health insurance and healthcare available to all, not just to the rich and healthy. Currently, group health insurance is issued automatically without considering pre-existing conditions without any devastating effects. Perhaps extending this to the individual market would not have major consequences, but the potential is there. Perhaps automatic issue medical insurance is worth the risk.
1. Make individual health insurance automatic issue: The risks are there, but this is an important step in making healthcare coverage available to all Americans.
2. Make all health insurance individual health insurance: This would add many people to the pool of individual plans in America and would greatly decrease the risks of automatic issue to current carriers. It would also make health insurance portable for people who go through times of unemployment or who change jobs.
3. Open up the market for competition across state lines: Increased competition is a safeguard to keep prices down and quality up.
4. Require health insurance coverage for Americans: Dealing with the uninsured has been very costly to private health insurance companies, hospitals, the government and ultimately to the tax-payers. It seems there are only three options here. Either tax-payers and private businesses must foot the bill, or we let these uninsured go without medical care, or we force them to get health insurance coverage. As much as Americans don’t like to be forced to do anything, the other two options seem worse to most US citizens.

Whatever healthcare reform there is must include preventative care and huge incentives for staying well and taking care of your health. Ultimately, this is the #1 way for us to decrease costs without decreasing the quality of healthcare in America.

Posted: January 9th, 2010 under Uncategorized.
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