Blog - Alison Gordon Insurance Services

5 things about health insurance you only know if you have a broker (Like ME!)

March 3, 2022

You can’t just get individual health insurance any ‘ol time you want. You MUST enroll during Open Enrollment (which starts in November for coverage beginning in January). ORRRRR you can get a new plan if you have a Qualifying Life Event (QLE) that happened within the last 60 days. A QLE is something like involuntary loss of employer coverage, marriage/divorce, having a baby, moving to a new state or the USA, etc. If you don’t pay your bill for your

The Insurance Mom’s Quip. #7

November 11, 2021

Life can only be understood backwards, but it must always be lived forwards. (Thanks Mr. Kierkegaard!)

The Insurance Mom’s Quip. #6

November 4, 2021

“Expecting the world to treat you fairly because you are a good person is a little like expecting the bull not to attack you because you are a vegetarian.” (Thank you Dennis Wholey)

The Insurance Mom’s Quip. #5

October 21, 2021

Never buy insurance for something you can reasonably afford to pay for yourself.

Surprise! Not any more.

October 14, 2021

Good news for consumers of medical care. On 1/1/22 the feds are rolling out a new law which will ban surprise medical bills – the ones you get when you least expect them – for situations where you have no control over who is taking care of your owies. Like… if you go to an emergency room. Usually those docs are not part of the hospital’s network. Yes, really. And so you get billed the full amount. Like… if you have surgery, and

The Insurance Mom’s Quip. #4

October 7, 2021

The last thing you want to hear is your Insurance Mom saying “I told you so.” So I’m telling you!

The Insurance Mom’s Quip. #3

September 30, 2021

When you think everything is someone else’s fault, you will suffer a lot. (Wisdom from the Dalai Lama!)

The Insurance Mom’s Quip. #2

September 23, 2021

If health care was affordable, we wouldn’t need health insurance. Just so’s ya know.

The Insurance Mom’s Quip. #1

September 16, 2021

To IGNORE the facts does not CHANGE the facts. I’m just sayin’.

PPO, HMO, or EPO? What’s in a name?!

September 2, 2021

What’s with the alphabet soup? What’s it all mean? How will it inform your choices? Understanding the differences is essential to understanding health insurance. HMO (Health Maintenance Organization) Say your toe hurts and you’re on an HMO. Where do you go first, the podiatrist? WRONG! With an HMO, you must get prior approval and referral to a specialist from your PCP (Primary Care Physician.) And there are NO out-of-network benefits ever, except for emergencies. HMOs are a way for the insurance company