Washington State Healthcare Solutions

Healthcare is complicated. We have seen marketers and a few insurance companies use the term Trumpcare for the last couple of years with mixed results. There was even the South Florida-based operation called Simple Health Plans that was shut down by the Feds that collected more than $100 million. ( Seriously, read this before putting your information on an unknown site .)I am going to talk about a few of the niche markets being pushed by the administration. 1. Short Term Plans - In Washington state, these plans are heavily restricted. We are talking 90 day non renewable. They can exclude pre-existing conditions and can exclude treatments and overages. As I write this I am aware of 1 company offering a plan that has made it through the Office of the Insurance Commissioner's standards. With the amount of coverage excluded, we feel that a customer is best served by purchasing a full health-plan for a short period of time. We have had new customers come to us over the years...

Suzie & Matt McColm Suzie McColm has been our local go-to gal for Medicare for years.  She has been providing free help navigating Medicare and its various parts for four enrollments. By being a pharmacy technician for Wenatchee’s ShopKo, and Safeway and the Safeway in East Wenatchee for nearly 20 years, she developed relationships with local pharmacies and how different prescription plans worked on the ground level. She was able to witness first hand customers surprised that their prescription plans had changed the first of the year. Since pharmacies direct bill they often see the insurance problems first. Suzie figured if she could solve the problems on the front end then there would be fewer headaches for her customers. The world would be better with a few less surprises. When a person is qualified for Medicare, it is a big change in their life. They have either been disabled for an extended period of time or are getting ready to turn 65. Suzie has assisted people wit...

We are exchange happy around here. They give the broadest selection for our clients without having to visit multiple agents/sites. Yes, we work with the Washington Healthplan Finder answering questions, helping people select plans (Just select a broker under Suzie Health Solutions ). We also have a life insurance exchange . We just added Travel Health Insurance . If you are not in our office then read up on the policies before you select them. There are some things to look for when selecting a policy.   Are you going on vacation and doing something adventurous? There is literally a section to read up on for Adventure and Sports Travel insurance. Some policies have exclusions for climbing, jumping, Thai Boxing , diving, etc. Look to make sure that what you are planning to do is not excluded. If you have seen it on a James Bond movie then probably some insurance company has excluded that behavior somewhere. Are you going with a group of 10 or more ?   For lar...

Maximum Service for Minimum Price There are a few of us no charge brokers out there for the Washington Healthplanfinder. We don't charge fees. That means our only source of income is from a person selecting us. We are not talking a lot of money and we are down to 1544 brokers last count. That is about 1000 less than when we started 6 years ago. Some have started charging fees. No we don't get paid for Apple Health Policies. (The exchange is not allowed to pay us despite being paid by DSHS to manage these accounts). No we don't get paid for some plans for a Special Enrollment. No we don't get paid for companies that don't affiliate with us. This means that we do a lot of charity work. We receive payment for about 1 in 4 policies. It is very rewarding on a spiritual level. Most people couldn't imagine getting paid for 15 minutes of every hour work. The first year that I estimated commissions for everyone that didn't select a broker, it amounted to $1 mil...

On September 12, 2019 the Office of the Insurance Commissioner approved the plans with a record low rate. The average rate of decrease for theplans was 3.27% . We have insurance companies expanding their coverage . The W ashington Health Benefit Exchange Board later approved the plans .   Remember, we all get one year older every year so do not count on a full percentage decrease.  Open Enrollment is November 1 st through December 15 th grab an appointment today . Heavy Enrollment in Eastern Washington in 2019 This is good news to all our customers in Washington State.   It shows the individual market on the Health BenefitExchange is stabilizing. There have been proposals for Reinsurance and adding a state individual mandate both of would lower prices.   We will see if the Legislature takes the necessary steps to further lower rates. Customers will be able to enjoy the lower rates starting January 1 st , 2020.   We like to focus on the ex...

What if you could walk into an office and get your questions answered about Healthcare at no cost? It's not complex most companies has someone that does Human Resources. They enroll you in healthcare, have the occasional survey to fill out and remind you to turn in documents. If this personal HR office was not connected to a workplace then it would have to be in a safe place, hold regular hours, easy access and not charge extra fees. In 2016 the Washington Health Plan Finder launched nine store fronts with that idea. The majority were located on the Westside. Suzie Health Solutions jumped at the opportunity. We started this entire thing because a client asked us how healthcare would effect them. We thought we would be a good fit and the Washington Health Plan Finder selected us to run Suzie Health Solutions in Wenatchee.  In 2018 the Washington Health Plan Finder expanded the model into Full Service Enrollment Centers . There are only 10 locations with ours located in ...

What were you doing August 08, 2013? I was driving a couple of hundred miles to Olympia to test the Washington Healthplan Finder . There were four brokers in the room. As we walked through it, we built a list of questions/problems to help the exchange get better. The biggest shocker was what we were expected to do for free. Before the ACA brokers received payment for helping people enroll in Medicaid. Most people can't imagine getting paid for 1/4 of their work but it is how we keep our doors open.  I think I am the only one left writing individual healthcare. The only other one that is in the business in Tacoma does mostly large business solutions.  Pre ACA Problems The early days were wild. I had to create flyers from next to nothing. We did our best to go out and educate the public from radio interviews at KPQ in Wenatchee to Front page in the Wenatchee World. We did classes at the local YMCA , libraries and Rotary Clubs. Honestly, the worst experience was at my ...

Today is myth busting for the price of healthcare in Washington State. We run Suzie Health Solutions , a Full Service Enrollment Center in Wenatchee, WA . We are trained and answer questions all year round for our clients. It is like having your personal HR department that works for you.  In a recent survey of Uninsured , 2 out of 3 didn't even try to get healthcare with 1 out of 3 thinking price was a problem. The majority probably qualified to get reduced cost or no out of pocket to them. I found it a little strange that people didn't know what their options were deciding to gamble with a solutions. I don't want my neighbors to not get their kids to the doctor because they didn't get healthcare during open enrollment.  We make it easy to get help. Open Enrollment is very short running November 1st through Dec 15th for Healthcare. Medicare Enrollments are October 15th through December 7th. Outside of that time frame, you need documented reasons. It is wh...