Washington State Healthcare Solutions

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What happens when a Medicare Advantage plan leaves?

Suzie and I have been working with Health and Medicare Plans for years. What happens when my medicare advantage plan leaves ? It comes up frequently during the initial enrollment period. The quick answer is we go through the different options and select a different one at that time. We have seen Molina & Premera paid plans leave our Chelan County. Lifewise leave and come back, Moda leaves the state, Soundpath Health Medicare Advantage wave goodbye to North Central Washington. We have been taking care of the entire Washington state for over eleven years. It is tough when a plan that you are comfortable with cannot continue in your area. Not every county in Washington state has Medicare Advantage plans. The insurance company has to identify that there is enough people who qualify, obtain contracts with providers in the area, and have enough profits that can be made in the area to continue to operate. Every year, some Medicare Advantage plans may leave the Medicare program by Dec....

2024 Health Insurance Rate Proposals for Washington State

Here at Suzie Health Solutions , we have reached the start of Open Enrollment #11. The proposed rate changes for 2024. This is the time of year that Health Insurance Companies submit their rate proposals to the office of the Insurance Commissioner. The public can then submit their thoughts on the plan proposals for public record. The Office of the Insurance Commissioner had fourteen health insurance filers with an average rate increase of 9.11% that are under review. These are proposed rates so do not be surprised when some of the rates change. Proposed Rates If you want to view the individual plans then here is the Health Insurance Rate search engine . 2024 Proposed rate change for Washington's individual health insurance market Health Insurance company Requested rate change Inside/outside Exchange, or both Percentage of market (Consumers effected)* Asuris Northwest Health -3.39% Outside 0.4% (1,057) BridgeSpan Health Company 15.15% Inside 0.4% (1,092) Co...

Washington State Pride Tour

We do a fair amount of work within the LGBTQA+ community. We have talked about the troubles with insurance equity . Completed additional training with Out2Enroll . Highlighted biases . However, 2023 has been our biggest year to date. 1. We started off by forming Wenatchee Insurance which has a focus on events, homes, autos, and business insurance. This was a process that took us several years to create. We found Shayla Winter who was doing similar work within the community and formally teamed up. We are competing in the Super Nova Business Launch Competition and are hoping to get a couple of new businesses in the program next year. 2. We joined the GSBA . Washington state's LGBTQ+ and allied chamber of commerce and the largest in North America. They are doing some amazing work while networking and educating. We also found out that we are the only member in the Wenatchee area. So do not be surprised if we continue to talk about it. GSBA Gear at Fierce Together 3....

How do I get rid of my used needles?

The Suzie @ Wenatchee Insurance , we do our best to answer questions regarding health insurance for our clients. Sometimes we go a little extra like how do you dispose of used needles. This is a hot topic right now. How does a person properly throw away their needles after they have used them? Insulin, Heparin, Dupixen t, etc, there are a lot of medicines that can be done at home that you need to properly dispose of the supplies. You don't want someone to stick themselves by an improperly disposed of used needle. The Food and Drug Administration recommends that used needles and other sharps be placed in approved disposable containers. They are generally available through pharmacies, medical supply companies, health care providers, and online. Seriously, Amazon has a huge selection. Let's talk about alternative containers. If an FDA-cleared container is not available, then some organizations and community guidelines recommend using heavy-duty plastic household containers. W...

Who can get Medicare and how does the Initial Enrollment work?

The Suzie @ Wenatchee Insurance is asked about Medicare a lot. We help people understand and enroll. If you are looking for PEBB information then go to the HCA and request customer service and if you don't like their options request that they contract with brokers. Once they contract then we get access to the specialized training and can effectively assist PEBB retirees. We work with plans that contract out with licensed producers. Who can get Medicare? Medicare is the federal health insurance program in the United States that provides coverage to individuals who are 65 years or older and certain groups of people including: 1. Individuals who are 65 years or older: If you are a U.S. citizen or a legal permanent resident and you or your spouse have worked and paid Medicare taxes for at least 10 years, you are eligible for Medicare at age 65. 2. Individuals with certain disabilities: If you h...

Apple Health Unwinding with resource documents.

How big is the unwinding effecting our neighbors. Let's look at the Continuous Enrollment Data that was pulled 02/14/2023 Chelan County 5,766 Douglas County 3,030 Grant County 8,012 Okanogan County 3,210 Kittitas County 2,324 Yakima County 22,744 Yes, Central Washington is looking at 45,086 people that have been enrolled continuously renewed into Apple Health. We are looking at a large percentage of our neighbors having to review their health insurance over the next year. Most of that will be outside of Open Enrollment period which runs usually from November 1st through December 15th. People are setting appointments year round so that we can travel to outreach events around the state to assist in education and enrollments. Yes, CHIP payments are restarting Key resources are the Enrollment Centers . Our office moved to 413 N Mission street a few months ago if you want assistance in Central Washington we can do phone, online and in person appointments . The reason th...