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Showing posts from August, 2021

The Big Covid Post for Central Washington

  We have been following the Centers for Disease Control since last year at the Enrollment Center. We had some serious conversations about Covid because we did not hear the conversations occurring. At the end of July they passed a major change that folks might have missed. We do live under a media bubble when it comes to healthcare.   We have talked about a year for safe behavior .  To maximize protection from the Delta variant and prevent possibly spreading it to others, wear a mask indoors in public if you are in an area of substantial or high transmission. Deltas spread is twice as great as the original strain . By the reactions in my office this week most people did not get the memo. Delta has been a Snoop Dogg levels for some time. COVID-19 variants were expected . All RNA viruses mutate over time. Every time they infect a new host, they have a chance to change, and these changes are called variants.  So let’s break down some of the myths . Canadian Medical Association It'

Special Enrollment for Health Insurance in Washington State

 Open Enrollment for Healthcare will run November 1st 2021 through January 15th 2022 . This is when people can make changes to their healthcare. There are 11 Enrollment Centers spread throughout Washington State and we are located in Wenatchee . Enrollment Centers have been around for six years and are almost a secret way to get no cost help with understanding health insurance. It has been a great program to be part of. Some are even set up to assist with Medicare and Life Insuranc e as well.  Outside we have what is called Special Enrollment .  One of the myths is that you can enroll any time of the year unrestricted is not true. You may be required to submit documentation to prove that you have a valid reason to get healthcare outside of special enrollment.  We have seen Special Enrollments for: Income - You have low income and Qualify for Apple Health : Do not be surprised if the Healthcare Authority asks to see how much you make .  Native American/Alaska Native Tribal Member : Du

Confluence Health dropping Premera, Lifewise, and Regence, not so fast let's talk about this.

  Confluence Health announced that they are going to terminate the contract with Premera January 31,2022. We started hearing about the negotiations back in May so we double checked with the Premera Filings in June. Our county is zone 7 and you can quickly see how we are priced compared to the rest of the state. You can also see that Premera intends to be in our area because it is literally in their filed plans. If they don't reach an agreement then professionals already have solutions.  We have had insurance companies leave the area before. The last we saw this was Soundpath Health a Medicare Advantage Plan bought by Premera closed its's doors January 1, 2019. We saw it when Premera, Lifewise and Molina left the individual marketplace during a contraction. At any given time, there is about two hospital systems negotiating with an insurance company. Insurance professionals have dealt with this before and have plans for when this happens.  We are recommending to not do anythin