Brought to you by Alison Gordon Insurance Services, Inc. CA license #0780178
ObamaCare — aka The Affordable Care Act — is set to launch 1/1/14. For California residents… this summer you’re going to be bombarded with radio and TV ads about the “Health Care Exchanges” or “Marketplaces” — known in California as “Covered California.” ObamaCare will not necessarily save you money and it will not necessarily get… Continue reading ObamaCare and You
… that you’re entitled to every bit of information in your own medical records? Thanks to the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA), that’s one of your rights as a patient. Ask yourself: “Do I really know what’s in my medical records?”, and if you don’t, then make sure you get a copy… Continue reading Did the doctor tell you… ?
Starting 1/1/14, the Affordable Care Act (ACA) will make Congress members and their staffs buy their own health insurance (for the first time ever!). And they have to use the new public exchanges to do it. BUT.. they’re all in a tizzy about what it’s going to cost them and are looking for ways to… Continue reading Is Congress trying to hide from the Affordable Care Act?
IMPORTANT IMPORTANT IMPORTANT IMPORTANT Anthem Blue Cross has been unable to re-negotiate its contracts with the following hospitals, so they are now considered out-of-network. In Southern California: Los Robles Regional Medical Center West Hills Hospital In Northern California: Regional Medical Center of San Jose Good Samaritan Hospital in San Jose If you are currently in… Continue reading Anthem Blue Cross In-Hospital Network Update
The Insurance Mom wants YOU to be a good money manager, and here’s one tool you can use painlessly, immediately and easily. And, best of all, it’s free! MyRxSavings is a pretty cool prescription discount program. Go to the site, print out your discount card and you’re off to the land of saving money! You… Continue reading Get Cheap(er) Drugs!
The Insurance Mom is thrilled to tell you how to save even more money on your prescriptions if you have those pesky cholesterol problems and have been taking — or are about to start taking — Lipitor. The 17-year patent has finally expired… wahoo! Now the drug is available in generic form. Atorvastatin is the… Continue reading Lipitor, be gone!
Getting a prescription from your doctor doesn’t mean you don’t have choices about how to spend your money. Ask your doctor if a generic drug is available and make sure it’s in the same class of drugs as the expensive brand name drug he wants to you to buy. Generics have the same active ingredients,… Continue reading Wanna Save Some Money (part 3)?
Need to get lab work done, such as blood or urine tests, PAP test or biopsy? Think about using a lab that isn’t located in or part of a hospital. They’re often way less expensive than a hospital lab, and some health insurance plans have a lower co-pay for outside labs. And many outside labs… Continue reading Wanna Save Some Money (part 2)?
If you have a health problem that isn’t an emergency and you can’t see your regular doctor, think about going to an in-network retail clinic, walk-in doctor’s office or urgent care center. They can take less time than an emergency room, are open nights and weekends and could save you a TON o’money!
OpenTable for MDs This recently came across The Insurance Mom’s e-desk and, although I can’t give it a thumbs up or down, it does look intriguing! Let me know how it works for you. Waiting days for a doctor’s appointment can make you extremely uneasy — not only do you not know what that lump… Continue reading ZocDoc — sort of like OpenTable, but not