Kaiser Permanente has made some recent changes to their Underwriting Guidelines. These changes affect newborn coverage and applicants who have used tobacco in the last twelve months. Tobacco users can expect a 20% increase in their premiums. Those applying for Georgia Individual Health Insurance Newborn Baby Coverage (who are not currently Kaiser members) will have to wait until the first of the month after their child has reached 60 days old to get coverage. See below for more details.

Tobacco Surcharge

Will a 20% surcharge automatically be added to the premium for anyone who has used tobacco at anytime in the last 12 months?
A surcharge will be given, but the application will not go through without the member accepting the policy at the new rate. On all surcharge applications, a letter is sent informing the applicant whether they want to move forward with coverage at the new rate.

Newborn Coverage

When applying for a newborn, do parents have to wait 60 days before applying? Do they have to provide the proof of release before being approved?
Parents applying for newborns do not need to wait 60 days to apply as long as they have the proof of release. Once the applicant receives the proof of release, they can apply for coverage. The coverage will not be able to go into effect until the first of the month after the child has turned 60 days old.

Are the newborns of current Kaiser members covered under the mothers plan for the first 31 days?
Yes, if the parents are members their newborn children will be covered for the first 31 days after they are born.

How long do current Kaiser members need to wait before getting coverage for their newborn babies? Will current Kaiser members’ newborn babies be forced to have a break in coverage?
Current Kaiser members do not need to wait until the child has turned 60 days old in order to get coverage. This wait time is only for new applicants, the newborn children of non-Kaiser members. If the parents are current members, the baby will be automatically covered for the first 31 days and can be covered with no break in coverage with a written statement from the parents.

Posted: March 8th, 2010 under Georgia Individual.
Comments: none

When can I apply for health insurance for my baby?
Many try to apply for health insurance for a baby who has not yet been born. Kaiser Permanente will not allow applications to be processed for unborn children. You will need to wait until your baby is born and then apply. We recommend applying soon after your child is born. The sooner you apply, the less likely that your infant is to develop a pre-existing health condition that may cause your baby to be denied. Many babies are born healthy and get approved easily when applying for infant health insurance. To get quotes and apply, click Child and Baby Health Insurance.

What if my baby doesn’t have a Social Security Number yet?
When applying for baby health insurance, many applicants do not yet have a Social Security Number for their newborn. The Kaiser Permanente Online Application System (KPAOL) requires that a Social Security Number be entered for all applicants, even newborn babies. If you are applying for health insurance for a newborn baby and the baby does not have a Social Security Number yet, please enter 010-01-0000 in the SSN form fields. An incorrect entry in these fields will cause the data to be rejected and the customer will get stuck in the application.

In the past, we recommended that customers use the following code: 100-10-1000, but we recently were informed that this code no longer works. Please use the code mentioned above.

Posted: February 22nd, 2010 under Kaiser Permanente.
Comments: none

Don’t forget about this new plan, the $40/$2000 Deductible Plan! Our top selling California Individual Medical Insurance Plans have been the $25 Copayment Plan and the $30/$15000 Deductible Plan. When customers have found the $1500 Deductible Plan too pricy, we have recommended the $40/$3000 Deductible Plan, which is more affordable. However, there is a new plan in 2010 that has benefits and pricing that fall in between these two plans, the $40/$2,000 Deductible Plan.

This new plan is very similar to the $30/$1500 Deductible Plan. Doctor visits and prescription drugs are covered right away with a copayment. Doctor visits are $10 more and obviously the deductible is $500 more (for individuals and $1,000 more for families). Individuals can save a little more money by going with the $40/$3000 Deductible Plan.

Families, especially larger families, may want to steer clear of the $40/$3000 Deductible Plan and opt for the $40/$2000 Deductible Plan. The $40/$3000 Plan is not offered as a family plan. You can apply for it for you family, but you will have to enroll separately for each member of your family. That’s a lot more paperwork and often more cost. You will billed separately for each member of your family.

If you have multiple children, you may find that the $40/$2000 Deductible Plan allows you to get better coverage at a lower price. Let me explain. On this plan you pay one price if you have one child and little bit higher price for two or more children. If you have one or two kids, you may wish to save money by choosing the $40/$3000 Plan. However, if you have more children, you may save money and increase benefits by going with the $40/$2000 plan because after adding two children there are no increased costs for additional children. On the $40/$2000 Plan, a family with two children pays the same price as a family with ten children.

Posted: February 16th, 2010 under California Individual.
Comments: none

In response to population growth, increase in membership and growing demand, Kaiser Permanente has added more hospitals and medical facilities in Northern and Southern California.

Vacaville Medical Center
The Vacaville Medical Center in the Napa-Solano County service area, in Northern California, opened October 6, 2009. The new hospital in the Kaiser Permanente Vacaville Medical Center incorporates the latest in technology and innovation for a growing population of Kaiser members.

Anaheim-Kraemer Medical Office Building 1
This medical facility opened up in the Orange County service area, in Southern California, on September 22, 2009.

Downey Medical Center
This medical facility is located in the Tri-central service area, in Southern California, and opened on September 15, 2009.

Rancho Bernardo Medical Offices
These medical offices opened up on August 30, 2009 in the San Diego service area, in Southern California.

Pinole Medical Offices
Kaiser Permanente in the East Bay service area, in Northern California, opened the Pinole Medical Offices on January 12, 2009.

Posted: February 10th, 2010 under California.
Comments: none

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.
Comments: none

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.
Comments: none

America is turning to deductible health insurance plans in order to save on monthly premiums. Richer no-deductible health insurance plans such as copayment plans are becoming less popular due to the high cost of the monthly premiums. Many health plan members currently on these high priced health plans are talking to their insurance agents about how they can save money on their monthly premiums.

In the past, copayment plans gave people a sense of security in that they knew exactly how much they would pay for any particular healthcare visit or procedure at the point of service. However, many are willing to take on a little more risk in order to reduce the cost of their monthly premiums. Individuals, families and businesses are all asking the same question: How can I save money on health insurance coverage?

Many opt with a health insurance plan that has a deductible. Few want to discard health insurance all together. That is a greater risk than they are willing to take. However, a small to medium-sized deductible, ranging from $1,500 to $4,000, can result in huge savings. Larger deductibles from $5,000 up to $10,000 result in even greater savings, but for many the savings is not enough to make up for the elevated risk of having such a high deductible.

For many small business owners trying to stay afloat in these difficult times, they have only two options, either opt for a deductible plan or discontinue offering health insurance to their employees. Often, these business owners realize that by not offering a health plan they may leave some of their employees without the ability to get health insurance. If the employees try to get an individual plan, there is the possibility that they may be denied coverage due to pre-existing health conditions. Group coverage with a deductible offers greater savings for the company and often the employees while insuring that the employees are able to access healthcare coverage.

Posted: December 28th, 2009 under Kaiser Permanente.
Comments: none

KaiserQuotes.com has recently posted a very helpful article for medical insurance consumers: Health Insurance Tips. If you are in the market for health insurance, you may find this article helpful. The writer mentions ideas that will assist you in finding affordable health insurance quotes. He encourages you to define your medical insurance goals. He also says that you do not have to pay to get quotes. You can get free, instant quotes online or you can find out rates from a local broker. Many will be surprised to find out that there is no charge to consult a broker. The writer encourages you to find a health insurance broker or agent that you like and that you trust. He also says not to be afraid to consult more than one broker. Some brokers will try to trap you into applying with them, but you don’t really want that kind of broker. Feel free to get help from multiple sources and then apply with the agent that you like best, the one that is friendly, trustworthy and helpful. The article recommends going with an HMO plan to save money on monthly premiums. However, he says that if you have a family doctor that you want to keep, you may need to go with a PPO plan. The key is finding the right balance of quality benefits and cost containment, and to that end I think you’ll find this article very helpful.

Posted: December 7th, 2009 under Kaiser Permanente.
Comments: none

Tomorrow is the Kaiser Permanente Georgia Individual Health Insurance deadline for individual and family applicants. The cut off time is 4:30 PM Eastern Standard Time. If a customer submits an application after this time, the effective date will be the 1st of January. If you have any questions, please call 1-877-752-4737.

Tomorrow is the last chance to lock in the current 2009 rates. Rates are going up after tomorrow. If you apply today or tomorrow, you can lock in the current rates for one year.

Posted: November 30th, 2009 under Georgia Individual.
Comments: none

Preventive care services are not subject to the deductible. Only the services that are intended to diagnose or treat an existing illness, injury, or a condition that has already been diagnosed or for which you have symptoms are subject to the deductible. Any non-preventative services you receive during a preventative care exam will be subject to the deductible.

The following are included and are exempt from the deductible:
o Flexible sigmoidoscopies
o Health education
o Vaccines
o Mammograms
o Routine preventive retinal photography screenings
o Routine preventive physical exams, including well-woman visits and eye refraction and hearing exam
o Tuberculosis tests

The following laboratory tests are also included and not subject to the deductible:
o Cervical cancer screening including screening for human papillomavirus (HPV)
o Cholesterol tests (lipid panel and profile)
o Diabetes screening (fasting blood glucose tests)
o Fecal occult blood tests
o HIV tests
o Prostate specific antigen tests
o STD tests

In an OBGYN visit, the following are included:

o Pelvic Exam
o Pap Smear
o Mammogram (depending on what the doctor advises)

Posted: November 9th, 2009 under California.
Comments: none