California Health Blog  

Even those of us in good health can’t escape food-borne illnesses, which cost the United States an estimated $152 billion each year in health-related expenses. That new report is much higher than previous official estimates, which looked at only a few pathogens. All the food-borne pathogens together sicken an estimated 76 million Americans every year bringing 5,000 deaths along with disability, pain, and suffering.

According to the report, which was conducted by the Produce Safety Project at Georgetown University, California is one of five states with the highest costs related to food-borne illness. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report that the 10 riskiest foods are leafy greens, eggs, tuna, oysters, potatoes, cheese, ice cream, tomatoes, sprouts and berries. Read the rest of this entry »

According to the Census Bureau, 43 percent of people in California do not speak English at home. By law, up to one-third of California’s HMO and PPO members could qualify for language-assistance from California Health Insurance providers. Research has shown that 25 percent of people with limited English-language skills had previously been unable to get language assistance when they wanted it.

Providers of Health Insurance in California now provide enrollees with both oral interpretation, and translation services in Chinese, Korean, Spanish, Vietnamese, and Tagalong at no cost. Read the rest of this entry »

Last fall, the Managed Risk Medical Insurance Board reopened the Healthy Families program to children of California. That meant the California Health Insurance coverage option could be extended to hundreds of thousands of children already enrolled in the California Health Insurance program, and new children could join, too.

Subsequent changes led to the program limiting families’ choices in dental plans if other Health Insurance in California options were available. Dental plan choices were limited for the first two years that children were enrolled in the Healthy Families program for some families who had not previously had a child enrolled for two consecutive years. Read the rest of this entry »

When you need Health Insurance in California, you want to see all your options, compare plans quickly, and get advice from someone who knows these plans well. Instead of spending hours contacting separate insurance providers, you can get accurate and fast answers online, and talk to experts who have worked with California Health Insurance Plans for years. They can help you compare how well different plans fit your needs, and determine which plans have the most benefits at the lowest cost.

California residents can choose from a variety of traditional health insurance plans, and plans that are designed to meet unique needs. In addition to more traditional plans, Health Insurance for California offers low-deductible accident plans, dental coverage, health reimbursement arrangements, maternity coverage, short-term health insurance, and student health insurance. California Health Insurance Plans can also help you take advantage of high-deductible health insurance plans that can be combined with Health Savings Accounts. Read the rest of this entry »

Despite Gov. Schwarzenegger’s veto of two comparable plans, the California Senate is moving forward on a government-run health care plan. The Governor has already indicated he’ll use his veto power again.

Sen. Mark Leno (D-San Francisco) proposed authorizing $1 million for a commission to figure out how to pay for a plan run by the state government. The hope is that this would help Californian residents, who now pay $200 billion for health care. Leno says this type of plan could cut costs through increased system efficiency, and cost-effective spending. Read the rest of this entry »

As the health insurance industry becomes increasingly difficult to navigate for many people, some major health insurance companies have started developing programs to appeal to the younger health insurance markets. These programs are varied, but the intentions of them are the same: to educate young consumers about the importance of health insurance and to help young consumers find the best health insurance plans for their needs.

One such health insurance plan education program has been developed by Humana. The program centers around a Web site crumpleitup.com that includes blog posts and links to social networking sites Facebook and Twitter. Using the Web site, Humana tries to reach a younger market to share information about health and wellness.  The Web site features projects, such as “Humana Games for Health” and “Freewheel!n” that are designed to engage young people to make wise health and lifestyle decisions. Read the rest of this entry »

Some major U.S. health insurance providers are providing language assistance services for their members. Beginning in April of this year, California’s health insurance providers, including Anthem – one of California’s largest health insurance plan providers, began offering language assistance services for its health and life insurance plan members. Language assistance has been available through many health insurance companies for longer.

Why are California health insurance companies increasing their language assistance services now? A new California Senate bill 853 was signed into place last year that requires all of California’s health insurance companies to offer language assistance services to their health insurance plan members with Limited English Proficiency (LEP). These services are provided at no cost to the members. Read the rest of this entry »

Humana – a major national health insurance plan provider – announced earlier this month that it will be partnering with MinuteClinic to provide convenient health care services. MinuteClinic is the retail health care division of CVS Caremark. MinuteClinics are located in CVS retail stores and provide easy and convenient health care programs and services across the country, including in states like California.

Humana health insurance plan participant and Humana employees will have expanded access to health care prevention and wellness services at MinuteClinic health care centers, which will total about 500 across the U.S. Since 2006, MinuteClinic has been an in-network health care provider for Humana health insurance plan participants in California and elsewhere across the country. Read the rest of this entry »

As the H1N1 influenza strand continues to spread across the U.S., many health insurance companies are waiving member fees associated with getting the H1N1 vaccine, such as co-pays, coinsurance, and deductible fees. The move to waive member fees is aimed at helping members obtain the H1N1 vaccine, regardless of their financial situations and budgetary constraints.

Already in California, individuals can receive the H1N1 vaccine at no cost if they are enrolled in Medicaid, the State Children’s Health Insurance Program, or other publicly funded health care programs. Read the rest of this entry »

As you research the many available California health insurance plans and health insurance plan providers, you will discover that each California health insurance plan is different, just as each California health insurance plan provider is different. With these differences, each separate plan and provider brings something fresh to the table that benefits plan members and, often, the larger community.

Such was the case earlier this fall when Anthem – one of California’s largest health insurance plan providers – not only assisted its members who were victims of the southern California wildfires, but also assisted the community at large. Read the rest of this entry »