UP TO DATE NEWS FOR WASHINGTON HEALTH

Hillary for America – Focus on re-tooling and expanding the ACA Hillary Clinton has a long track record of advocating for Universal Health Care, the CHIP program and bringing expanded care to rural areas.  The ACA undeniably has brought these things to the majority of the American people, especially with the expanded Medicaid program.  However, […]

“Overall, more prefer expensive broad-network plans over cheaper narrow-network plans, but potential ACA exchange customers lean in the opposite direction.”[1]  Those who are uninsured or buy their own insurance prefer lower cost, limited network plans over broad and expensive options. The discussion on narrow vs. broad networks is not new to the health insurance industry.  […]

For Employers, there are three fees associated with the deployment of Obamacare.  What we are finding is that most carriers have these fees and taxes embedded into the rates, so in some cases the employer may not be aware they exist.  However, occasionally, you will actually see separate line items on your invoice. The PCORI […]

Donald Trump’s plan to reform Healthcare and “make it great” While Donald Trump’s main initiatives have been widely discussed, mocked, opposed and virtually dissected from every angle, the issue of Healthcare has been relatively mum, comparatively.  Like his right wing contemporaries, presumptive Republican Presidential Nominee, Donald Trump has taken the position to repeal and replace […]

It’s been a long process (initiated in Late 2015), but on February 1, 2017, Kaiser officially acquired Group Health with the final stamp of approval coming from Washington State’s Office of the Insurance Commissioner. Kaiser and Group Health share many values when it comes to delivering healthcare – both heavily leaning on an HMO/integrated health […]

With the individual health insurance market transitioning to open enrollment periods (ended on January 31, 2017), a common misconception has developed in that potential insureds believe they don’t have an opportunity to enroll into any sort of individual health insurance plan at this time. Some may find that they qualify for a special enrollment period […]

It’s tax season! Many HSA utilizers make a one-time annual contribution at this time. Here are your contribution limits for 2016! And, while we’re at it, let’s go ahead and throw in 2017 as well! The contribution limit for an individual went up $50 from 2016 to 2017 – all other contribution amounts and plan […]

Effective April 1st, new Federal Regulations require a reduction in the coverage duration of Short Term Medical plans to a maximum of three months. To understand the impact and reasoning behind these new compliance measures, we provide a bit of context and history regarding this market. Short Term Medical plans originally were created as a […]