Sterling Insurance announces new California Supplement policies for Medicare beneficiaries

Sterling Insurance has announced that it is now offering California residents Medicare Supplement (Medigap) policies There are currently over 4.8 million residents of the state that are eligible to receive Medicare. In California, every day means that approximately 1,000 more people will have turned 65, rapidly increasing the number of possibly eligible beneficiaries. At the moment, only 7 percent of the Medicare-eligible population of the state is carrying a Medicare Supplement policy, which means that there is a large number of people who have health coverage, but who will also…

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The Californian perspective of the Affordable Care Act

Though the Affordable Care Act (ACA) may be a federal healthcare system overhaul, each state is experiencing it in its own way, and though Californians have already started seeing some differences since the act went into effect in March 2010, there will be a great deal more by the time it has been fully implemented in January 2014. So far, Californian health care has seen a few important changes. These include: • Ensuring that no new health insurance policies can include lifetime caps on benefits, so that individuals who are…

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California insurance commissioner issues report card for PPO

The California Department of Insurance has released the quality of care report card by insurance commissioner Dave Jones, called the “2012 Preferred Provider Organization (PPO)”. According to Jones, this report is a useful resource which provides consumers with a larger amount of practical data about the quality of the care they can expect to receive, so that they are better able to make decisions that will meet their healthcare requirements. He added that “I want to encourage all Californians to take a look at the findings of the PPO report…

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Health insurance companies in California to increase rates by 8 to 14 percent

The largest health insurance companies in California will be raising their average rates by approximately 8 to 14 percent for hundreds of thousands of policyholders with individual coverage, leaping ahead of the overall medical care costs. According to government data, within the last year, the national average cost of products and services associated with health care increased by 3.6 percent. However, the insurance premiums have continued to climb at a more rapid rate within the state. The rate increases were defended by the California insurance companies, which said that they…

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Commissioner Dave Jones reflects on achievements a year after taking office

California Insurance Commissioner Dave Jones has been in office for a full year now and he has taken the occasion of this anniversary to reflect on the accomplishments he has been a part of from 2011. In a statement released by the state’s Department of Insurance, the Commissioner notes that his time in office has been filled with confrontation with the insurance industry. Indeed, many of the actions coming from the Commissioner have been met with opposition from insurers, especially the bid to give state regulators more authority over the…

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