Washington State Healthcare Solutions

 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....

 Suzie Health Solutions has been assisting people in Wenatchee and surrounding counties going on ten years. We make it easy as possible because this is a life changing moment. Suzie takes her time during enrollment and answers questions through the year making her high in demand. She does take appointments and people have set them as far out as five years. We do not charge fees .  To enroll in Medicare, you must be a U.S. citizen or permanent resident who is 65 years or older, or have a qualifying disability or end-stage renal disease. Yes, if you have a Permanent Resident Card (I-5551) then you can qualify for Medicare! To quote or set appointment here. We do assist people in office for an initial enrollment or receive forms to activate Medicare B from a delayed start. You can enroll in Medicare online, by phone, or in person at your local Social Security office. You will need to provide your Social Security number, date of birth, and other personal information. Once you h...

Hi, Suzie Health Solutions has been helping Central Washington eight years. We are the full service enrollment center located in Wenatchee . We are a family run small business. This means people can walk in, get help on there account and not be charged a fee. We recommend always selecting a no charge broker to provide additional assistance if things go sideways as well as getting access to their expert assistance.  While we insure a lot of people with the Healthplanfinder and on Medicare . Today we are going to talk about Apple Health or Medicaid. The Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP) or Apple Health (Medicaid) provides insurance for kids under 19 if your modified adjusted gross incomes meets the requirements. The requirements are adjusted every April. Please contact us if you are interested in enrolling for healthcare for your child.  Is my child eligible? Kids with single parents kids with two parents kids living on their own kids living with grandparents, famil...

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 ...

I see more value to using the established systems than trying to recreate the wheel. Most of us insurance professionals are using exchanges so we just have to work on making it consumer friendly. I know that the brokers are a dwindling resource because most get torn up between customer needs and insurance company’s demands. Some companies have failed to pay brokers as they rely on the exchanges for their sales force, while others that have reduced their support to the point that some brokers have had to resort to charging additional fees to keep the lights on. If you ever need any help or want me in the room then let me know and we will be happy to be a resource for you. Here are a few talking points to improve the current system. –Matt McColm at www. Wahbroker.org A. The high risk pools proven to be unsuccessful in providing affordable service to the small population that they served. We recommend reinstating the reinsurance corridors to the companies participating in the Health ...

The information for Native American Services is spread pretty out. (The ACA is probably one of the worst marketed programs ever). Here are the basics for individuals that have their tribal affiliation. 1. At 300% or less of poverty level (400% in Alaska) you get the no cost sharing (the zero co-pays). This year that is $35,640 per year with a modified adjusted gross income. Which is fancy talk for you can write off some income and qualify for better rates. 2. You can enroll throughout the year. 3. You can apply for an exception for the tax penalty. 4. Improvements to existing Indian Health Services. I always recommend using a no-cost broker. (Ask up front if they charge because some are needing to charge). We don't charge fees, are licensed by the state, trained how plans work, and can help with situations like this. If you have any questions then let me know I am always glad to help out. Websites for more information: https://www.ihs.gov/aca/thingstoknow/ http://www.hh...

Suzie has been working hard. THese last couple of months adding new policies for Medicare Advantage plans all over the state. I made her sit down and do a county by county search to see if we could offer more plans as we are getting questions from all over. When you can cover under 65 with Healthcare and Prescription Plans (Part D) for the entire state then we knew that we could do more. For us it has always been about families helping families and this year we are prepared to help even more. Check out the coverage area for 2017.

Starting January 15, 2016, the Washington State Health Care Authority (HCA) will be mailing Washington Apple Health (Medicaid) clients a new tax form named the 1095-B. The 1095-B form provides of each month the client had minimum essential health coverage in 2015 through Washington Apple Health. The Health Care Authority transmits this information electronically to the IRS. Apple Health clients should keep the form for their records, since it contains important information they will need to complete their 2015 tax return. In some cases, people may get more than one tax form – such as 1095-A, 1095-, or 1095-C – depending on their employer and the kind of health coverage they had during 2015: · The 1095-A is furnished by the state’s Health Insurance Marketplace (Health Benefit Exchange) · The 1095-B can also be furnished by other government-sponsored programs, employer-sponsored group health plans, and more. · State employees and retirees enrolled in the Un...

1. Well, I found a first trap because of excessive exchange funding. This effects all clients that have had apple health. Clients are now able to get extensions automatically on their apple health up to a year at a time. I have a family that is now at 200%+ of the poverty level that was granted this extension. Their healthcare is paid by tax dollars and as their broker I receive zero commission. Would you like to make $60,000+ a year and have medicaid for the entire family? Previous to the ACA brokers were paid $100 per enrollment with an average of 10% of people a year coming off medicaid during any given year. 2. If you have been following this was an excerpt from a Health Care Authority recent audit sent Oct 23rd. HCA regularly conducts audits of Washington Apple Health eligibility. Recent audits by HCA found numerous cases of inaccurate income reported on Washington Apple Health (Medicaid) applications in Healthplanfinder. Clients found to have discrepancies in their reporte...

The Director for the Wenatchee Senior Center dopped in and gave Suzie McColm her plaque. It was the first one that she achieved. She has been helping for years people fill their prescriptions at the local pharmacies struggle. The struggle could have been from not having insurance to having a bad plan. When she had enough, she rolled up her sleeves, got her insurance license and started helping with the affordable care act. After her first year helping, she wanted to help more with Seniors so Medicare was a natural for her. She still helps as a pharmacy tech these days but her passion is helping people on the front in with insurance. Stop in and say hi to a proud member of our team .

The first week of open enrollment has been exciting. We have had some new customers and some old. When we first started and I looked at the system, I let everyone know; the first rule is always use a broker. This year is truer than ever before. Here are the challenges: 1. There are 143 plans for individuals. 30 plans for Small business and 8 dental for kid s. These are plans that myself and many brokers have been training for months. This is a monstrous variety to choose from. 2. There are some plans that are only available on the exchange that are great even if you don’t have subsidy. The first year, we only had one company and now we have three that are going this route. 3. There are still some errors with the system. I was able to catch one early that no tax subsidy was being applied. It was $30 a month that the gentleman could use for other expenses. 4. I am still seeing businesses offering group plans that are either unaffordable or more expensive than some of the plans on ...

We believe that healthcare should be affordable and usable. There are 136+ plans on the Washington Health Benefits Exchange and it can be a little confusing to who covers what, for how much. For 2014 we helped so many people in Eastern Washington that Matt McColm was named a Top Producer by the Washington Health Benefits Exchange . Open Enrollment is just around the corner. It doesn’t matter if you are a new or a repeat customer as we take the time to explain how plans work so that our clients can make informed decisions. This is a tremendous time for Health Insurance because it allows customers to shop and select new plans that start in 2016. Some important things to consider: 1. Open Enrollment runs from November 1st to Jan 31st. This is when Health Insurance is the most Flexible. 2. There are Special Enrollments outside for a variety of reasons including moving careers to one that does not provide Health Insurance. 3. Households of 2 qualify for reduced prices for Health Insur...

Who likes paying something for nothing? When the ACA went into effect almost three years ago, the maximum a household would pay was $285. This is on top of any fees or expenses if you got sick or injured. Most people wouldn’t ever see the penalty because it was taken when they filed their taxes. We started helping people that year because we saw where the penalty was going to lead. The average client under 30 paid less than $150 a month for insurance or nothing at all if they qualified for Washington Apple Health. For 2016 the tax penalty will be up to $2085 per household. This is significantly more than more people enrolling would pay for insurance. 80% enrolled were either free or qualified for a subsidy. There are 136 plans on the exchange which can lead to some confusion, which is why we recommend working with a broker. A broker receives training on how different plans function and are licensed and regulated by the Washington Insurance Commissioner. Ask a broker up front if the...

2016 is shaping up to be a big year for health insurance in Washington State. We are now looking at: • 180 approved plans on the Washington Health Benefits Exchange . • A 4.2 percent Increase approved by the Office of the Insurance Commissioner. • Regence Blue Shield’s Innova plan is the state’s essential health benefit (EHB) benchmark plan so the tax credits are changing. Our office has been training a few months on the different plans. There are some big differences with new carriers entering the exchange market such as Health Alliance Northwest Plan Inc, Regence BlueShield and United Healthcare of Washington. There have been significant changes in plan structures of Lifewise, Moda and Coordinated Care. We regularly reach out to carriers to find out how they function from customer feedback and with utilizing the products ourselves. Our brokers do the best to distill the information down to a usable format so that our clients can make the best possible choice in carriers. Y...

Before I started working with Healthcare, I was a big fan of a single payer system. The more involved and the more understanding led me to a position that I do not believe single payer is possible in the United States. I can say this due to the continuous exploitation of sick people and tax dollars by unethical individuals. Here are some examples: 1. I am a veteran that does not like the VA. I remember the hanging fluorescent tubes from the ‘70s. It has been rocked by countless scandals throughout the years. Whether it is document shredding the applications of Veterans ; to bonuses paid to poorly behaving employees ; to waiting lists for waiting lists . They may do some good treatments however it needs to be overhauled at the least or dismantled at the best. 2. Medicare is another American System that people talk about expanding because of low administrative costs. We see abuses in Fraud and False Billing . It is a team event of ineffective management on the government level and un...

Washington Association of Health Underwriters held their 2015 Spring Symposium in Spokane. I was able to carve out the time and be able to attend as it was amazing. There were at least 30 vendors organized around the room. We had speakers that had serious content about Healthcare in the State of Washington. The Affordable Care Act and how it is interacting was a major topic. I wish that more of my agency was available to go. I wish a big thanks to Premera , Asuris and the other Sponsors of this event. Events are not cheap. I got signed in early and ran around talking with every one that I could to see who was doing what with Insurance. There were familiar faces such as Group Health, Connext , Moda, etc. I also encountered new Venders, ones that were able to provide multiple group quotes, private health exchanges or inexpensive plans for large groups that are 100% ACA compliant. This was an excellent way to start collecting information and put together some dynamic solutions for...

Health Insurance doesn’t have to be intimidating. I got involved because I saw for the first time; it could be affordable to normal people. That they didn’t have to go bankrupt. A lot has changed during the last couple of years to make it better for people. There is a simple principal that I started early with to help people who do not want to dedicate their lives to get better health insurance. I got involved in 2012 when a client walked into my office in Wenatchee and asked me, ‘how does Obamacare affect me?’ If you do nothing then you will have a fine and let’s take a look at it next year. When the summer of 2013 came around, we priced it and found that she could get insurance for around $50 a month. For the first time in her life Health Insurance was affordable. I priced more of my friends to discover that it would have a large impact in the Wenatchee Valley. I talked with my primary insurance company and they were not participating. I was left to find companies become affiliat...