Health Reform Bill 10/1/10 immediate changes to take effect
A few Health Bill Highlights – the immediate rules to go into effect 10/1/10
taking place on Health Plans purchased or plans switched over to 10/1/10 and beyond
No Exclusions or Declines for Under 19 years of age – This was a big seller of passing the Health Reform act and as some of you may have heard was actually left out of the health bill, which was learned after signing the bill and finally reading the bill – the bill has been fixed to include this. This will open up to 19 and over in 2014. Children must be garunteed issue even if they have a health condition that previosly left them as a decline with Health Isurance companies. However we have heard that they can still rate up for Medical conditions but have not started seeing what rates will be. we should start getting this info near the end of August.
No more Lifetime benefit Maximums – most plans currently max out at 5 million dollars, meaning no more health benefits after the health insurance company has paid out 5 million in medical bills for you.
National Risk pool will be created for people with pre-existing coverage over 19 years that can not currently get coverage – this will allow people to join a plan with a pre-existing condition, Have heard that this will be affordable and also expensive so we will have to wait and see what they come up with for rates. (Somewhat like Portability) have not heard much on this yet, we know Arizona has opted out of being a part of this.
Dependant Coverage to Age 26 – kids can stay under parents plan even if married, if they have no other group coverage Options - this has already started taking place with most companies.
No Rescissions/ Dropping people from their current health plans due to a sickness – This means they can only remove you from your health policy if they find fraud – such as lying on a health application. This is currently the policy in Arizona and has been for some time.
Internet Information Portal – July 1st 2010 all states are supposed to have a website up and running with information on the health bill and health carrier information for their specific state - Arizona did meet the guidline to get this up by July 1st, however alot of the links do not work yet, please call us to help you navigate insurance plans as we know the ins and outs of the companies and offer quotes for all major Insurance carriers in Arizona. We get you the same rates as if you were to go direct, but with us you have someone on your side if you need help understanding how your plan works.
Select Preventative Services offered with out cost sharing – Preventative serives such as screenings and physicals have to be covered by your insurance 100% with no copays and no deductible and co-insurance. There is a select list of preventative srvices but it is pretty extensive.
As rates and new plans are being approved with the department of Insurance right now, we will start getting more specifics on rates and plans near the end of August to take affect October 1st in both the group health and individual and family health arena. With any specific questions please do not hesitate to call us at 480-830-2595 or email us at frontdesk@wearingtoomanyhats.com . If we do not know the answer we will do our best to find out for you. We are staying vigilant on getting all the information as it comes out, so we can better help serve our community with their Health Insurance Coverage.