Washington State Healthcare Solutions

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...

 This year Suzie is going through her Annual Medicare Training . It is done every year and allows her to contract with Medicare Plans, educate and enroll consumers and receive a commission for her services. If you have been to our main webpage then you notice that we do a lot of different types of insurance.   Insurance is an heavily regulated industry. It requires being trained and then licensed with the Office of the Insurance Commissioner. We purchase equipment, open office spaces, and software so that we can effectively interact with the public. We have to secure contracts with companies if we want to be able to offer their products. Now not every company offers contracts with Agents. So we had to put up a new disclaimer. "We do not offer every plan available in your area. Any Information we provide is limited to those plans we do offer in your area. Please contact Medicare.gov or 1-800-MEDICARE to get information on all of your options. " Yes, since not every compan...

  We enroll people into health insurance . Over the last year plus, we have also had to battle with COVID restrictions. We were one of the fortunate small businesses in that we could help people remotely and we had most of the internal protocols ready because of a Tuberculosis exposure a few months earlier. There are 11 enrollment centers located through the state, we just happen to be in Wenatchee. It wasn't until May, that we noticed something. A local Health district published the vaccination rate by zip code. When we started looking at the vaccine hesitancy they have an commonality. It is not a real surprise because both are created in a similar fashion for people to operate in a destructive, toxic fashion. We have fought that disinformation wall for nine years. We know that there are a ton of our neighbors sitting in the center that will leave it for friends and family to pick up after they followed bad information. When you are in the country then you will probably recognize...

  We are a couple of weeks away from Pride Month. Matt got into supporting Gay marriage early because that was the only way to get equality when it came to retirement planning. The model in Washington State of domestic partnership didn't allow people to roll over annuities and forced them to cash them out early. Matt has been advocating for equality for a while . Here and Here  and here .  So let’s get down to some reminders before June arrives. 1.        The American Rescue Plan Act will significantly address LGBTQ Poverty .   We have been talking about this since last March and are enrolling people that need healthcare and making sure that they are receiving eligible benefits. There is a Special Enrollment right now.  a.        The Increased in tax credits is a massive change so if you have skipped health insurance then shop. In Washington State the new pricing goes into effect the mont...

OK thanks to the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (ARPA) and last year's Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act of 2020 (CARES Act), we have a lot of income that may or may not impact your healthcare. If you have a good tax preparer do not hesitate to talk with them if you have questions. As this is only some of the simple guidelines. Here is the FAQ from the Healthplanfinder about the American Rescue Plan. It is a big deal and we have talked several times about the impact that is having on healthcare for good. Here we talked about it on our Podcast: Suzilla .  Tax guideline chart On the Washington Healthplanfinder , there are two types of plans. 1. The Qualified Health Plans which can use Advanced Premium Tax Credits (APTC) to lower monthly costs. If the Income level is under 250% of poverty level then a household can also receive Cost Sharing Reduction (CSR) which lowers things like deductibles, out of pocket maximums and co-pays to increase household savings. ...

 Here at Suzie Health Solutions , we have been talking about the Covid Bill for a while now.   One of the facebook videos is here.  If you have listened to our Podcast: Suzilla or seen one of our videos on Facebook then you know that something major is going on with the cost of healthcare.  1. Right now, the Washington Healthplanfinder have set up a FAQ sheet about the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021. There are some important things to note.   They are expecting to make the pricing changes by Mid May so talk to an enrollment center to see if they have taken effect.  Big cost savings to households for 2021 & 2022 If you want to peek at the tax credit shift then go here .  COBRA changes will only last until Sept 30. This will lower the cost of insurance for 2021 and 2022. There is no legislation to extend it at this time.  2. The Department of Health & Human Resources estimate that 79,200 will now get credits in Washington state t...

We run Wenatchee Enrollment Center . For the last four years, we have been the full service enrollment center for the Washington Healthplanfinder located in Wenatchee.   In North Central Washington, we can see road closures. It is nothing to see North Cascades Highway, Sherman, or Stevens Pass close during the winter month. This year we saw Pine Canyon near Waterville, WA shut down with a landslide. So what happens if you need help with Healthcare?  For the majority of situations, we can enroll and make adjustments over the phone or using screen sharing technology.  We have been doing business from Sequim to Spokane since the first year of the ACA when people scrambling to find help. We have even been known to help people calling in on Satellite phones from the Bering Sea! We do recommend setting an appointment so that we have some introductory information and that we are not out of the office and can dedicate time for you.  We also do walk ins if you are locat...

Since Wenatchee Insurance is the Full Service Enrollment Center located in Wenatchee, we receive a lot of requests about Apple Health. We wrote an early blog post about low and no cost care for children . We assist people with all income levels with professional assistance. We do not get paid for every policy that we write but that doesn't stop us from helping people.  Healthcare can be confusing. We always recomend connecting with a no cost broker and a navigator so that you get maximum customer service. For example if there is a payment issue with a insurance company and we are connected then we can sort it out quicker if there is an established affiliation.  One of the topics that came up recently is what is the difference of the three Apple Health Managed Care Providers. This blog post is going to hopefully answer those questions. Here we go: Fast Comparison Chart Amerigroup Washington . I strongly suggest that you check out their members handbook  as they go throug...

Here we go with some COVID relief for the unemployed.  If you need a mask then stop in! Beginning September 21st, Employment Security will begin processing payments of an additional $300 per week to the state base weekly  unemployment benefit approved under the Lost Wages Assistance FEMA Payment.  There is only five weeks approved for weeks August 1st - Sept 5th.  The Lost Wages Assistance FEMA payments is not countable for Washington Apple Health (Medicaid) eligibility but is countable for tax credit and cost-sharing reductions. We have been advised to not include the $300 Lost Wages Assistance FEMA payment in your weekly unemployment income amount reported to the Washington Healthplanfinder application.  You should choose to adjust their Qualified Health Plan tax credits by adjusting the amount of tax credits applied to their premium in Washington Healthplanfinder . If you under estimate your income and use more tax credits than you are qualified for then yo...

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...

Why would a small business fly a Pride Flag? Do you feel it is important to treat all people like people? As a business owner this comes up more than I expected over the last decade. So when one of my friends that runs a barber shop asked about HR 5: Equality Act , I had to have a deeper discussion. Representative John Lewis spoke about the importance of the Equality Act passing.  As a small business, we decided a long time ago to promote and support equality.  It's our job to insure , not to judge. It's an very old school mentality that was reinforced by my first District Manager. If someone walks through my door as long as they are not abusive, disruptive or spreading illness then they are welcome. Our office literally assists just about everyone because we do business and are open to the public. We have no problem flying a pride flag, or a Black Lives Matters poster or a Latinx banner. We are part of a larger community. Discrimination is an issue and it is ...