When it comes to health insurance in the state of California there are definitely a lot of options available. The competition between the insurance companies for your business is fears, even though it might not seem that way when considering monthly premiums. The reason for the completion between the insurance companies in the sate of California is California laws and the size of the population. Laws in California surprisingly make it much more affordable and easier to get health insurance than in states like Washington and New York. Where average premium is three times of what it is in California. The problem with laws in California is that insurance company can decline and charge more money anyone with any medical issue. It is a win solution if you are healthy and almost no solution if you have medical issues. If you do not work for a company and do not have group plan available to you then your only options of getting health insurance in California is thought program called MRMIP. It is a California state sponsored high risk group health insurance plan that anyone can join with medical issues. It is a limited health plan and is very expensive.
When is comes to choosing a health plans in the state of California one generalization we can make to make it easier to choose and compare plans. That if it is a large insurance company with over one million people insured than the cost of the insurance is going to be pretty close to being the same. That means that no matter which company you are comparing it the cost of insurance is going to be very close to being the same. This includes companies like Aetna, Assurant, Blue Cross, Blue Shield, Celtic, HealthNet, PacifiCare, Nationwide and Kaiser is going to be exception because it only offers HMO type of plans. Cost of insurance meant that you are going to get so much coverage for every dollar that you are going to spend with the insurance company. You have to consider this when comparing health insurance plans. When you are looking at a plan from one company that you think you are getting this "greatest deal", when you are actually are not getting something. Insurance companies are in constant competition on who can create a more of a creative plan. What that means is that there is a reason why one plan is much more per month than the other plan from different insurance company even though the benefits might look identical.
In California with all the insurance companies to choose from, insurance companies are constantly introducing new plans to be more competitive. That does not mean that suddenly they just decided one day that they don't want to make money and that they don't want to stay in business. New plans that are being introduced and some have been available since late nineties. Today consumer needs to be educated when choosing a health plans since plans that are offered today give you flexibility to get a plan where it covers only what you think is important to you. It could be a scary proposition since how can you possibly know what you really going to need coverage for. In most cases with all the big name insurance companies, the flexibility of the health coverage only applies to preventative care. Every plan has a number called "maximum out of pocket" that should be considered all the time when comparing health plans. That number represents the maximum dollar amount you can be out of pocket in any given year for all the medical expenses before insurance company starts paying for everything at one hundred percent. There are some really cheap plans offered from every major insurance company where nothing gets applies to this number except in case of catastrophic even where you end up in the hospital. Then insurance company starts paying at one hundred percent after your hospital bill reached that number called "maximum out of pocket".
The great thing is that insurance companies are getting smarter and give us the consumers the option to have the health plan we want with monthly premium we can afford. When working with agent or representative and you get a quote ask him or her what is not covered with this plan versus the plans that cost more money. Insurance agents get paid by the insurance companies and come at no cost to you. Therefore do not be afraid calling an agent or agency and asking them questions. It always makes sense to go through agency or independent agent since they can assist you with any health insurance company in the state of California. Also your agent or agency is going to be there for you incase you have any issues with billing or claims. It's your agent's responsibility to take care of you if there is a need, take advantage of your agent.
Author: Dennis Alexander
Health Insurance Options in the State of California
