Washington State Healthcare Solutions

  Hello from Wenatchee Enrollment Center. . We assist people from all walks of life understand and enroll with insurance. We do not charge fees and are available throughout the year.  If you need help then grab an appointment here . We can work online or in person. The app even sends reminders.  Between February 15th and May 15th if you need health insurance then we can get it. Normally, we are only enrolling people that have a documented reason. (Why it's called Special Enrollment). Yes, we help folks year round when they move to the area, loss coverage from an employer, get married. Here is a small portion of who we help.  We recommend always selecting a broker at one of the enrollment centers. In Wenatchee, we have Matt and Suzie McColm at Wenatchee Insurance. By having us connected to your account, it costs you nothing and allows us to assist you immediately if there is a problem.  

It takes minutes Temporary work, contract jobs, seasonal jobs, freelance, piece work, driving for Uber, selling on Etsy, etc. The gig economy has been around for ever. Whether it is picking apples for the season, working the slopes at mission ridge, to being a contractor at a server farm it is easy to fall into a gig career path. About a third of the American workforce has found themselves bouncing from short term job to short term job. While the pay can be good temporary, what about the long term? A policy for everyone When was the last time that you met someone that retired after working from the same job for 40 years? On average, you will change jobs times 12 times in your lifetime. What happens if the next company doesn't offer a plan? We have seen companies terminate life insurance policies for retirees. Do really want to leave your family high and dry for a short term job? What happens when you die? Your bills don't go away . A majority of adults say a fu...

Expect a lot of junk plans from other sources. A couple of years ago, a group of individuals started the ACA Signup Project. I have helped out at Suzie Health Solutions and have been teaching and enrolling people in healthcare since 2013. There was a great concern that the incoming President would slash funds for the outreach and attempt to sabotage the Affordable Care Act which he campaigned against. Yes, he promised to "Repeal Obamacare from Day 1". Well it is still here and we are always looking forward to more friends joining the outreach effort. Here are some tools that will help. We have made huge improvements In Washington State we have made some huge gains and we are working on making more. We are up to one in four people receiving their healthcare from the Washington Healthplanfinder. It is open year round for enrollment of people that are at 138% of poverty or affiliated with a Native American Tribe. Some of the rural counties of Eastern Washington, we ...

Brokers have always been an important part of the Washington Healthplan Finder . We have education requirements from the state for our license. We receive regular training from the Exchange on how it functions. We receive training from Insurance Companies on how plans functions. It was no surprise that one of the first customer satisfaction survey's rated brokers extremely helpful to 80%  from people enrolling in qualified health plans. Suzie Health Solutions is a no cost broker. The Washington State Auditor's office published it's Performance Audit in 2016 confirming the importance of selecting brokers. Right off the bat on page four, they mention shifting calls to brokers as being a possibility to reduce cost.  Brokers reduce cost by how they are paid. Brokers are paid by commission or charging fees receiving no payment for Medicaid. The exchange on the other hand pays for Navigators and the Call Center which drives up costs (page 28). Certain States improved th...

Reduce your misery We get the flu shot every year. Every year people die from the flu.  “ Last year the flu killed 296 people in Washington and thousands more were hospitalized", said Dr. Scott Linquist, the state epidemiologist for communicable diseases. Getting an influenza vaccine — though not 100% effective — is the best way to prevent the misery of the flu and its complications. We don't like being miserable nor do we like inflicting misery upon others. We work with a lot of different people and some have compromised immune systems and we want our office space as safe as possible for others. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends that everyone 6 months of age or older be vaccinated annually against influenza. Do you like kids? Well one study showed that flu vaccinations reduced the risk of flu-associated death by half for children with high risk medical conditions and nearly two-thirds among healthy kids. Medical conditions  increasing...

After six years of helping thousands of people get healthcare, we have seen a few things. I am currently running the full service enrollment center in Wenatchee . It's where we answer questions and enroll people in healthcare at no cost to them. Look if you have an account on the Washington Healthplan Finder then please keep it current. Reading your mail and paying your taxes solves the basic difficulties with the program. Here are the big tips: Put the mobile app on your phone so you can check easily check your account and get messages. The user name and passwords are the same as the desktop version.   Select a no charge broker to get your questions answered. This is maximum service for minim dollars. Some of us throw out tips on facebook and if you don't get help directly, your neighbor does.  Right off the bat if you have Apple Health Dental then use the heck out of it. You get cleanings every year, basic restorative fillings, some root canals and denture...

When you qualify for Medicare , it is an important time in your life as you are literally making decisions that affect the rest of your life. You are usually either transitioning from a qualified health plan from your employer, three months before or after your birthday, or have become disabled. You have benefits during your initial enrollment period that you may not be aware of. If you miss your initial enrollment then you have restrictions and possibly penalties . Our busiest seasons. A no charge agent means just that, we don’t charge additional fees to assist you and answer your questions throughout the year. If you select or change plans with the assistance of a no charge agent then we receive compensation from the insurance company managing the plan. Yes, there are some cases that you can simply select an agent of record by signing a form, but there are certain plans that once you have selected an agent, they are attached until you switch plans or for the rest...

Don't be afraid of winter. When you live in the Cascades and winter arrives that means snow. With snow, we have ice and the inevitable slips and falls. What does that mean if you have a deductible over $5000 or worse yet no insurance? Some people want to wrap themselves up with bubble wrap and park it on the couch for the next four months. We believe that people should get out and have fun. As insurance geeks and parents of a teenage boy, we understand about injuries and sports. We know that 1 out of 8 Americans each year seek medical care because of injuries. In almost every age group falls are the leading cause of accidental injuries. If you have a kid in sports then you know that 90% of young athletes have been injured while playing a sport. Millions of kids are seen in an emergency room for injuries related to sports and recreation every year. We know that the average Emergency Room visit is charged $1,389 and a lot of people don't have the money in the bank to cove...

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...