The annual Medicare Part D Prescription Plans Open Enrollment period starts and ends earlier this year. It will be from October 15 to December 7.

Open Enrollment is the one time each year when everyone with Medicare can enroll in a Part D prescription drug plan or Medicare Advantage plan for the first time, or switch to a different plan for 2012. Changes will be effective January 1, 2012.

Insurance companies that offer Medicare Part D and Medicare Advantage plans were required to send Annual Notice of Change packets to their members by September 30. These packets explain changes to a plan’s benefits, drug list and costs for 2012. Some people were notified that their coverage will change in 2012 or that their plan has been discontinued. Others were told that they will automatically be moved into a different plan offered by the same company. For anyone who is not happy with their new plan, now is the time to make a change.

Medicare Part d Prescription Plans

• Make sure you received the Annual Notice of Change. If you did not, call your Medicare Part D plan right away and ask them to mail you one.

• Evaluate plans carefully, whether it’s your existing plan or a new one you’re considering. Look at the plan to be sure it covers the medications you need, and whether you can afford the premiums, deductibles and co-pays.

• Review the list of drugs (also called a formulary) that your plan pays for and make sure it covers your prescription drugs. The Annual Notice of Change packet should include a formulary of drugs your plan will cover next year. Call your plan if you did not receive a formulary with your packet or if your drugs are not listed.

• Plans change and so do individual health care needs. If changes to your existing plan are acceptable, you don’t need to do anything. If not, you need to find a plan that better fits your needs.

• Don’t wait until the last minute to enroll in a plan. Join as soon as possible to be sure everything is in place by January 1.

• Remember that the deadline for enrolling is earlier this year – December 7.

For information about qualifying and applying for these programs, call Health Insurance Services, Inc at (847)566-6250

For many companies the ability to provide Illinois group health insurance to their employees is a huge benefit that hard workers will truly value especially if they have a family to take care of at home. However sometimes the task of setting up  group health insurance in Illinois can be difficult for many new and smaller companies. Fortunately an Illinois group health insurance broker like Larry Smith from Health Insurance Services, Inc. can be readily and easily used to setup and administer such a program for any company desiring to provide health insurance to their valuable employees.

A reputable group health insurance broker in Illinois will normally answer any questions a company may have about providing health insurance to the members of their company. For instance did you know that a group health insurance plan will only cover full time employees? Your group health insurance broker is responsible for providing answers to questions similar in nature. In fact many health insurance companies define a full time worker or employee as someone that works a minimum of 30 hours a week at their place of employment.

Get an Illinois Group Health Insurance Quote

In order to qualify for group health insurance a company must have at least 2 full time employees on the payroll. Naturally more is better and an Illinois  group health insurance broker like Health Insurance Services Inc. will advise a prospective company of facts just like this. Additionally at a minimum 50% or more of a company’s full time staff must enroll in the offered group health insurance and coverage provided by the company. There are additional rules and regulations to follow when it comes to adding dependants and newborn children to an existing health insurance plan that covers an individual as part of a group.

One of the best benefits a group health insurance broker like Health Insurance Services, Inc. can provide assistance to a company with is the proper administration of their health insurance policy. Generally speaking it normally takes about a week for a health insurance provider to review any group health care plans submitted by a company hoping to obtain health insurance for it’s workers. Sometimes this waiting period can drag on especially if there is a multitude of paperwork that needs to be completed in order to obtain the health coverage.

Clearly in the case such as the one mentioned above a knowledgeable group health insurance broker is worth their weight in gold as they can be tasked to properly prepare all of the administrative paperwork needed to complete the group health care coverage application. Their knowledge and expertise can also be used to handle or field any questions during the
insurance underwriting process which can sometimes be a very complex procedure.

As you can see the difficult process of setting up a group health insurance plan or coverage for the full time employees of a company can easily be managed and controlled with the helpful assistance of a group health insurance broker.

At Health Insurance Services Inc, our goal, our focus is on working with small business owners to find the group health insurance policy that fits your specific needs.  Please Contact us today so we can talk with you about your business and help you find the health insurance policy that will meet all of your expectations.

How does an Illinois resident with a pre-existing health condition find a quality Illinois health insurance plan? why does it seem like it is so difficult to find a pre-existing condition Illinois health insurance plan?

Pre-existing conditions are defined as illnesses in which the person has gone to a physician, clinic, or medical facility and has received medical care in the past. Insurance companies are using these questionnaires as well as an exclusion period in order to defend themselves from people with pre-existing conditions that are seeking medical insurance.

In the state of Illinois people that are applying for an individual health insurance plan can be turned down at the insurance company’s discretion due to pre-existing conditions unless that person is eligible for an Illinois HIPAA health insurance plan.

In the state of Illinois they follow HIPAA laws very strict. the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act created in 1996 and effective in 1997 provides protection for people that have medical pre-existing illnesses. the law protects people by limiting their exclusion period when purchasing health insurance, lowering the chances for a member with a pre-existing condition to lose coverage, providing protections when they change jobs and guaranteeing that your health insurance policy gets renewed at the end of your coverage year.

The law however, has not eliminated the ability of individual carriers of denying health insurance to pre-existing condition people or exclude medical conditions. the only guarantee issue provisions lie in State sponsored plans and insurance company funded plans. what HIPAA does provide is for guaranteed acceptance health insurance coverage for people that meet 6 HIPAA requirements. When someone meets these 6 requirements they are considered HIPAA eligible and can qualify for a guaranteed issue HIPAA health insurance plan. the 6 requirements for HIPAA eligibility can often be the only avenue of health insurance coverage available to some high risk individuals with major pre-existing health conditions.

Some of the most important insurance companies in the state of Illinois handle pre-existing conditions a little bit differently, because of this it is important to do some research and actually shop around for a policy before deciding to apply. Individual plans have more exclusion that group plans and that is why they are quite a bit less expensive, because they are more restrictive.

Aetna Health Insurance who is one of the big dogs in the health insurance business across the United States is a primary example of exclusion period. They offer a 365 day period starting from the day of enrollment, in which a person with a pre-existing condition is not covered. it is important to note however, that if the person that has a pre-existing condition has had prior creditable coverage within 63 days immediately before the signature of the application; then the exclusion period will be waived.

Another example of this can be seen with Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Illinois, who is one of the 39 independent, community-based insurance companies that make up the national Blue Cross Blue Shield network. Since they are independent that means they might not have the same provisions as Blue Cross Blue Shield companies in other states. In Illinois, BCBS requires a member with a pre-existing condition to wait a 365 day exclusion period from the day that they sign the policy before receiving coverage for their illness.

Compared to individual coverage, group plans are a little better. They cannot turn you down due to a pre-existing condition, which makes group plans more expensive. under HIPAA law an employer can only deny pre-existing condition coverage if the person is diagnosed, receives treatment or has care and treatment 6 months before the enrollment date. a good thing to note is that pregnancy cannot be accounted as a pre-existing condition by an employer insurer.

The total time a person can be excluded from a group health plan if they have a pre-existing condition is 12 months after enrollment (18 months if they enroll late), for this reason it is important for a person to sign up for health insurance as soon as they are offered it (if not you can be subject to 18 months instead of 12). Fortunately for some, the time can be less in case that they were covered by an insurance company for the 63 days before enrollment. Also, an insurer cannot deny coverage to a small employer (2-50) under HIPAA law.

Finding Illinois health insurance coverage when one has a pre-existing condition can be very tough. not to mention that pre-existing conditions cover everything from cancer, HIV, Hepatitis C and even high cholesterol. it is key however, for a person that has a pre-existing condition to know all the exclusions and their rights that are provided under the HIPAA law. This is important because once you know your rights, you will be able to be more knowledgeable about the subject and avoid long exclusion periods.

 If you have any questions about pre-existing conditions and Illinois health insurance please call us at Health Insurance Services, Inc.