If the Covered California web site has you frustrated as you
try to enroll for Affordable Care Act (ACA) health insurance coverage, you’re not
alone.
But there are people to help you in Glendora Village.
There’s Maureen Carter, owner of Maureen Carter Insurance Agency, and three agents of the Warner InsuranceAgency
– Bill, Kirk and Rails Warner.
All four are certified agents authorized to help individuals
and businesses find the right medical insurance being offered through Covered
California’s health insurance exchange as part of the ACA.
There are only about 1,000 insurance agents “certified” so
far in California out of 15,000 insurance agents statewide and more are being
certified each week, and they are supplemented by insurance counselors and
navigators.
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| The Glendora Chamber of Commerce will host a workshop about the Affordable Care Act next Monday, Oct. 29, at 6 p.m. at the Citrus Valley Association of Realtors. Click here for more information. |
It’s tough to enroll through www.coveredca.com because of demand on the
website, Maureen Carter explained, but she expects that to become easier by
mid-November.
Until then, she and the WIA agents can fill out the
paperwork in their offices, which is then emailed to Covered California.
Information about household income, number of family
members, age, social security numbers and employment are required for
enrollment.
“When they complete the application with us,” Kirk Warner
explained, “they start the enrollment process and from there we help each
applicant understand their subsidy eligibility, plan option, and doctor
availability.”
Then customers can start shopping the various plans offered
in the exchanges for medical insurance. They can check to see if their income
level qualifies for government subsidies or if their family doctor is in
network or not.
“Choosing which metal
tier – bronze, silver, gold and platinum plans – is up to the individual and
how much they want to spend for coverage; their income will determine if they
qualify for a subsidy,” Warner said. “We kind of have to work it out to find
the best possible coverage at the least possible cost.”
Both insurance agencies can also guide businesses through
ACA provisions for employee medical insurance.
Both Carter and Warner emphasized that health insurance
enrollment must be completed by Dec. 15 for coverage to begin on Jan. 1, 2014,
though enrollment has been extended to March 31, 2014 for one time only. Annual
enrollments – to keep medical insurance or to change it – will run from Oct. 15
to Dec. 7 every year thereafter, started in 2014.
Carter emphasized that “that no one should pay a fee for
getting help with enrollment. You never know what scam artists are up to these
days.”
Kirk Warner will be among panelists at “What’s Around the
Corner,” a Glendora Chamber of Commerce business workshop about the ACA on
Tuesday, Oct. 29, at 6 p.m. at Citrus Valley Association of REALTORS, 504 E.
Route 66, Glendora, CA 91740. For more
information, click here.
For more information, call Maureen Carter at (626) 387-7400
or send an email to info@mcarteragency.com,
or Kirk Warner at (626) 963-3244 or send an email to kirk@kirkwarner.com.
If you are a member of the Glendora Village Business
Improvement District and have some news to share about your business – whether
it’s about an upcoming sale, activity or promotion, a new employee or other
updates – please send an email to GlendoraVillageNews@gmail.com.
