Covered California Announces New Plans
If you already have health care benefits through a Union-negotiated health plan, then all the noise about “Obamacare” probably doesn’t have much to do with you. As the President said, if you are in a good health plan, you can stay there – this new law is for the millions of Americans who have no health care coverage. You probably have a relative or friend who will be helped, but those of us in good Union plans won’t need to go to the new Exchanges.
For those without any healthcare coverage, though, Covered California, California’s own new Health Benefit Exchange, announced details about what the Exchange’s health plans will look like in 2014. While nearly three dozen health insurance plans submitted bids, only 13 were selected. The companies currently approved to sell health insurance on the marketplace include Anthem Blue Cross, Kaiser Permanente, Health Net, and Blue Shield of California. United Healthcare, Cigna and Aetna have currently opted out of selling coverage in the California Exchange .
Covered California reports that its providers will offer rates in the individual markets ranging from 2 percent to more to 29 percent less than that of small employer plans this year. It is unclear what will happen to rates over time. Many analysts estimate unsubsidized premiums will increase
For more details on what the California offerings look like, click here or contact your Trust Fund counsel.
Author: Conchita Lozano-Batista
