Health Insurance Options & Brokers
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Health Insurance Options & Brokers
March 2012
I am a 54 year old single mom with 2 dependant kids (one in high school, one in
college) wondering if there is a better affordable insurance plan for my family.
Nobody has had any major illnesses, although my daughter had migraines for a
brief period (its been 2+ years since an occurance) and I had some PT for my
knee. Can anyone recommend an insurance broker or Kaiser agent to help me
find an appropriate policy. I am afraid to apply elsewhere for fear of getting
denied and having that blemish on our record. We currently have HealthNet PPO,
which only allows for 2 covered visits annually. Also am curious about anyones
opinion of Kaiser.
Thanks!!!
Insurance Intimidated
I used Marc Williams Insurance Services. I mostly worked with Natalie Glime a
Brokers Assistant there. She was very helpful. Provided a number of options
based on our needs and is ready and willing to help us appeal the 3rd tier
rating we received do to some existing conditions. My friend, who works with
health insurances, doing medical billing, recommended the company after working
with Natalie. My sister also used her (at my recommendation) and was pleased
with the assistance and end result.
5100 B-1 Clayton Rd. #362 Concord, CA 94521 Phone (925) 672-7257 Fax (925)
672-7263 CA License #0F23390 http://www.marcwilliamsinsurance.com
I don't think there is any risk in getting a quote. Good luck. Selecting a
health insurance plan is no fun.
anonymous
March 2011
I have already looked through the archives and called some of the
brokers, but nobody has been able to help yet. My husband has his own
business, and we pay a fortune for our individual health plan. We
would like to work with an insurance broker who knows about HSAs,
HRAs, and group plans for a small business. He currently operates as a
sole proprietor, but we are willing to become a partnership or add me
as an employee if we can get a group plan. When we brought up our
situation to some brokers, they acted like we were speaking a
different language. I would think that someone who works in insurance
would know about basic insurance issues, but we got a lot of, ''well,
I'm not sure about that'' and ''I'll have to research that''. I am
hoping to find a broker who is familiar with very small companies and
their insurance issues. We really just don't know how to navigate all
of this. Please help!!
I am the Director of HR at a small law firm in San
Francisco. We have been using the same insurance broker for
many years now. They recently helped us change to a high
deductible health insurance plan to help with cost and
coverage of our employees. They are incredibly
knowledgeable and helpful. The name of the firm is: Kosich
& Callahan and they are located in Lafayette. Their phone
number is (925) 284-5433. Good luck!
Anon
I highly recommend Laura Lawrence. She gave me great advice
a couple of years ago when I started a business and was very
thorough in explaining requirements/options as well as
presenting plans from multiple insurers. She specializes in
health insurance for Individual/Family and Small Business.
Laura Lawrence
LG Lawrence Insurance Services
925-287-9222
Fax-925-287-0870
Call Sue Breedlove of Breedlove Insurance in Orinda. Her # is 925.254.6262.
She specializes in small groups, hsa's and is very knowledgable about health
insurance, etc. I think she would be a perfect match for what you are
needing. Your husbands situation is just the kind of work she likes to be
involved in. Her website is www.breedloveinsurance.com.
anon
I've been self-employed since 2000 and my husband since 2004. We have used
BCBS-CA and found an amazing rate through Spectrum Insurance & Financial,
4175 Sugar Pine Way, Livermore, CA 94551-6783. Brian Fitzpatrick is the
agent that helped us. The phone number (from my old records) is 925-
447-9189. Back in 2005 we were only paying $350/month for a family of four
with a $2500 deductible. We are in another state now and moving back to the
Bay Area and will still use BCBS, but will need to re-apply for BCBS-CA.
Some things that helped with our application process-keeping good records of
our health exams and test results, no pre-existing conditions (I think this
is the biggest factor), we keep copies of our annual blood results and annual
exams (mammograms, etc.), younger (nearing 40 and early 40s). We opened up
our own HSA through our bank (WF). Some individual insurance plans qualify
for a HSA, others do not, so you'll want to find the plan that allows this.
We don't have dental or vision insurance, but pay out of pocket twice a year
for cleanings, which is all we've needed (so far!). My dentist says floss
only the teeth you want to keep. Hope you find something that suits your
needs. Good luck to you! Jodi
June 2009
Hello everybody, we are planning for having a second child,but right
now our insurance doesn't cover maternity, we have to change our
insurance .last year my husband was diagonsed with diabetics and they
say that we won't be accepted or changing insurance is not
possible for us .any suggestions or does any body knows a health
insurance agent who can help us through the process. thank you.
I recommend Bett Martinez for helping you change your insurance. I
found her through some earlier reviews on BPN and am really happy
with the work she just did for me and my partner (both
self-employed). Maternity coverage was one of the concerns I had
as well and she was very knowledgable about that issue. She helped
me sort through the options and figure out what would be best for
my situation. For my partner, who had previously been declined
coverage, she helped determine what he needed to do to make his
application stronger, and then saved the day when he was declined
a second time and she found out that the insurance company had
LOST the aforementioned doctor's letter and therefore had not
taken it into consideration. She faxed it to them immediately and
they reversed their decision within 24 hours. We never would have
known what had gone wrong or how to fix it without having an
advocate like Bett. I'm more of a DIY-type but I do think that
getting insurance is a really
confusing and difficult process and is one case in which it
really pays off to work with an expert--her work on our behalf
saved us countless hours of work and hundreds of dollars per
month. Plus, the insurance company pays the broker's commission so
it is free to you. As a bonus, she is delightful to talk with and
extremely responsive. Bett Martinez, 510-526-0312,
http://www.bettmartinezinsurancesolutions.com/
Deborah
May 2009
We are new to the area, and both me and my husband don't have a
job yet. Can anyone advise me on how to go about buying a health
insurance for a family with young kids?
I am also looking for a health insurance that is not too
expensive. Any advice will be appreciated!
anon
We just bought a Blue Shield Plan (Balance Plan 2500) for our
family- 2 healthy adults, 4 y.o. and 3 month-old. It is costing
us about $340/month. It covers everything we need with $30
copays and a $2500 deductible. We did the whole application
online, and although it took them 45 days to approve us (when
the website assures 30 days) for no apparent reason, we haven't
had any problems since. It does not cover any maternity, if
that will be an issue for you. Good luck!
Hate the red tape....
If you need medical insurance a great step to take is to contact
Jean Sturges 510-845-6688. She is a health insurance broker and
can address your needs by dealing with many different companies
and see what best suits your family's needs. You do not pay her
at all for her services. She would be compensated by the
insurance company, if you do end up buying a policy through her.
Many people that I have known of have been very happy working
with her and benefiting from her expertise and knowledge in the
field. Good luck!
Leah
May 2009
Hello,
Is there someone out there I can talk to about different
health
insurance options? Currently, my family has private health
insurance through Blue Cross...it is outrageously
expensive....I need to find lower cost insurance but am not
sure how to go about making a choice...
I am looking for a job to get health insurance through the
job,
but want to make a change before then...Who should I call to
get help?
Confused and Worried
Bett Martinez is very knowledgable on health insurance with many
years of experience. Her phone is 510-526-0312. She is located in
Albany.
kathryn l
Had the same plan as you for years, then I found out Costco has
health insurance plans now for California members. The trick is,
if you have a lot of questions, they will refer you to their
insurance broker, CBC. Even if you can't get a regular discount
plan with Costco, CBC is a great insurance broker who might be
able to get you into a ''normal'' plan. Biggest tip: DO NOT apply
for insurance unless you are sure you'll get approved! ONCE you
get declined by even one company, it's much more likely the others
will find out and you'll get declined by them all. DEFinitely find
an insurance broker - they get paid a commission from the health
insurance companies so you shouldn't have to pay them. The one I
used is www.cbcvip.com - good luck!
Debbie L.
Hi,
I highly recommend Steve @ SF Health Ins Marketing. His office is
in Marin county, but he works all over the Bay Area. He will visit
you if needed. His phone number: 415-492-0130
Sonali
Hi - Health insurance can be so confusing! We had to go through
the same maze you're facing and it feels overwhelming. A good
source for independent research is ehealthinsurance.com. They
show rates, options and you can compare plans side by side. You
can sort by premium, deductible, company, etc.
You can buy directly from them. I found I still needed help
getting it all sorted out because its overwhelming. Plus we had
existing health issues that I needed assistance in underwriting.
We worked with Julie Asti who is a Certified Financial Planner
that also has a health insurance license. She doesn't charge
anything as she's compensated by the insurance company. She was
fair, objective and honest. She worked with the company to solve
'issues' we had along the way.
Good luck - it's confusing!
Rachel H.
i have worked with carman insurance in the past. they are a broker
for several companies and are very nice and helpful and helped me
to figure out my best choice for my situation. the work form a
lovely home office in north berkeley or you can just call them too
510.528.6773 or www.carmaninsurance.com
the service is free!
worked for me
I recommend Elona Pertica to resolve health plan questions. She
is great; bright and helpful. Gives good advice and knows her
stuff. Has an MBA was in finance and started her own consulting
company about 8 years ago. My husband used her for his small
business and she has helped us with our personal plans over the
years. e.pertica@comcast.net Good luck
Pamela
I'd contact a broker and I'm sorry I don't have a number to give
you, but hope someone else can chime in here. If you have a
pre-existing condition, you might have to go with Kaiser. I have
BCBS (self-employed) and pay less than $500/month for a family of
4 (couple, late 30's and two young children). It even includes
maternity, which is good because my last two births were billed in
the six figures. My premium is ''high'', but the deductible is
$2500 per family although they chip in 80% of everything anyways.
I think their prices vary, so it's best to find a broker to
advocate for you. Good luck.
anon
Had the same plan as you for years, then I found out Costco has
health insurance plans now for California members. The trick is,
if you have a lot of questions, they will refer you to their
insurance broker, CBC. Even if you can't get a regular discount
plan with Costco, CBC is a great insurance broker who might be
able to get you into a ''normal'' plan. Biggest tip: DO NOT apply
for insurance unless you are sure you'll get approved! ONCE you
get declined by even one company, it's much more likely the others
will find out and you'll get declined by them all. DEFinitely find
an insurance broker - they get paid a commission from the health
insurance companies so you shouldn't have to pay them. The one I
used is www.cbcvip.com - good luck!
Debbie L.
Bett Martinez is very knowledgable on health insurance with many
years of experience. Her phone is 510-526-0312. She is located in
Albany.
kathryn
When my husband was laid off in January, we used
ehealthinsurance.com to find our health insurance. You type in
your basic info, and they give you several hundred results
(which you can then narrow by doctor, or hospital, or price).
For a family of 4 we are paying $230.00 a month, no maternity
(which lowers the monthly cost), deductible of $8000 per year
for the whole family, and have a health savings account. It's
still expensive with the deductible, but it's better than
nothing, and what we pay is the same the insurance allows (which
is sometimes half of what the hospital/md/etc charge.).
hate the health care situation
Jan 2009
We currently purchase Kaiser insurance as an independent family
and are being charged about $900 for a family of three per month.
This is very costly, as we work for ourselves and do not fall
under any employers' health plans. I'd like to ask BPN members
their suggestions for a good PPO plan, if there is such a thing,
and pediatricians and gynocologists that would take PPO as I will
probably switch out of Kaiser's plan after a month or two of
research.
K
Hi,
I am also self-employed and have BCBS. I used a broker-Brian Fitzpatrick from Pleasanton years ago, but don't have his contact info any more.
We were paying $350 two years ago for a family of four in California and since then have moved, but still have BCBS. We now pay $455, with a hsa, they pay the first $500 of expenses without us dipping into our deductible, which is $3000 for family (and even then they cover 80% before that is met). I'm even covered for maternity, which suprised me because both of my deliveries have run into the 6 figure range. What is not included are vaccinations, well visits, dental or vision. Instead, I go to Costco for eye visits, use a sonicare toothbrush twice a day, and if my kids need a shot we go to the health department.
Good luck. I'm fed up with healthcare too.
Jodi
We had to purchase our own insurance up until about a year ago. Kaiser was by an enormous margin the best value for the dollar that we found. Now that I am on my employer's plan, Blue Cross PPO, the premium is much higher than what I was paying for Kaiser(but my employer pays most of it), and the deductibles/ coinsurance/ out of pocket maximums are completely ridiculous. From your post I got the impression that you were looking for a less expensive plan. If I were you, I would stick with Kaiser but maybe increase your deductible or go with an HSA to lower your premium. Good luck.
Hoping for reasonable health care someday . . .
I'll be interested to see what other BPN'ers have to say about this. I'm also self-employed and we pay about $1300 a month for health insurance for a family of four, through Blue Cross. Ouch! I investigated the possibility of a high deductible plan, which would only have cost us about $500. We would have had more out-of-pocket expenses, but those can be paid out of a health savings account (HSA) that you can set up and put money into pre-tax. All in all, they sound like a great deal, but when I applied for it for my healthy family of four, they rejected us because my younger daughter had recently had ringworm and (gasp) uses a prescription ointment for acne. Imagine, a teenager with acne! I'm going to keep trying to get one of these plans, but the experience left me wondering if the insurance companies are really granting them to anyone, or only offering them because they were mandated to by a federal bill a few years ago. It also left me more convinced than ever tha!
t we have to get the insurance companies out of this business in order to get everyone covered in a fair and affordable way. In the meantime, I hope you find something, and I look forward to the other answers you receive.
Single Payer Fan
We recently decided to get our own insurance and called Bett Martinez, a
broker, in Berkeley. She helped us through the process of applying to
Blue Shield for which we were all approved. You might ring her and tell
her your needs and wants and see what she recommends...she was super
helpful. Her number is 526-0312
deborah
May 2008
I am leaving my job, which has provided excellent group health insurance for me and my
family, and I need a good insurance broker to help me find a new plan. Both my husband
and I will be self-employeed. The recommendations in the archives are a few years old.
Can anyone recommend someone to help me navigate the health insurance maze?
Don't want to do Cobra
Carla-Jean Barker is a wonderful broker--warm, knowledgeable, patient, great at
explaining even the most complex plans. She helped us so much with health
insurance that we also turned to her for long-term care insurance--another
great experience. We can't recommend her highly enough!
Carla-Jean Barker
CJB Consulting, Inc.
cjb@cjbconsulting.net
800.608.7278
www.cjbconsulting.net
--Very pleased CJB clients
Call Sue Breedlove at Breedlove Insurance. Her # is 925.254.6262 or e-mail her
at sue@breedloveinsurance.com. Sue specializes in helping self-employed people
and small businesses. She is very thorough and great at researching and
explaining all your options. She's honest and tries to get you the best
program to fit your needs.
Marika
I've recommended her here before, but we love the work Carol Nickovich
(www.nickovich.com) has done for us. Friendly, knowledgeable, responsive,
understands your bottom line.
Happy Customer
I just recently got my health insurance questions answered by Pat
Burns (www.burnsemployeebenefits.com) and applied for the
insurance that best met my needs. I found Pat responsive,
knowledgeable, personable and thorough. What I'd anticipated to be
a ''painful'' process because of all the choices turned out to be
easy and ''painfree''.
Rosie
Oct 2006
I am thinking about moving to consulting from a full time job
with benefits- but currently I am providing the benefits for my
husband and 2 kids. Looking for recent experience with private
health insurance, and/or Kaiser facilities convenient to the
Berkeley area. Any recommendations on where to go for help
choosing between plans? Any experience on what seems to be the
fashion of lower premium, higher co-pay or out of pocket
expenses?
Looking to make a change.....
I would suggest that you speak to Jean Sturges, 510-845-6688. She is a health
insurance broker. It does not cost anything to use a broker. They get paid by
the insurance carrier. I know many people she has helped
Julie P
I definately recommend going through a broker. Your premium will be the same
and they can help you sort through what the best plan for you will be and how
to go through the application process. They will also be your advocate should
any questions arise. I think Bett Martinez is very good. She can be reached
at well-being at pacbell.net or at 510-526-0312
Ilana T
In regards to the recommendation for Jean Sturges as a health insurance broker: I
too found a recommendation to her on BPN when I was searching for new insurance for
my family, I am a new stay at home mom.
I found her to be less than helpful. She told me that she could not meet anytime
in the near future because she was busy with her family from out of town. This is
understandable of course but the way she communicated it was snippy and made me
feel that my concerns about securing a health plan were not valid. I was eager to
take care of my insurance policy and when I told her this she scolded me for not
returning her phone call earlier!! I had a newborn at home and my delay in not
returning her call was not more than two days.
Needless to say, I choose another person to adovocate for my family and have been
very happy. His name is Tom Fleming
anon
I highly recommend my health insurance broker, Pat Meyer. She has
helped me set up insurance plans for a small business, as well as
helped me get the best personal health insurance plan after
leaving a company. She is knowledgeable, helpful, persistent, and
has a great sense of humor (which can be very helpful when trying
to work with insurance companies!).
There's one catch -- she relocated from Emeryville to the Napa
area a few years ago, so if you're looking to deal with someone
in person, she's probably not for you. But she's very responsive
to phone calls and emails. You can reach her at 707.928.5200, or
at patmeyer at mchsi.com
Jessica C
August 2006
I've checked the archives and don't see any recent listings for
insurance agents who can help us with our healthcare woes. We
are self-employed and have either gone without or just used
Kaiser for the last several years. I'd like to change from
Kaiser but don't know where to begin! We really need someone
who can sit down and explain our options to us before we choose
a plan.
In response to your request for someone to help you understand
and buy health insurance, I would like to recommend Dan Peven.
My wife and I, also both self-employed, just moved to Berkeley
from New York last May and Dan was very helpful getting us our
new policy. While Dan IS and insurance agent (yikes!) he's
also rather human and had the desire and patience to explain
everything to us...often more than once. (The options here are
quite different than NY.)
His contact info is:
Dan Peven,
The Pension & Benefits Co., Inc.
610 16th Street, Suite 504
Oakland, CA 94612
510 268-3586 Fax: 510 268-3587
dan at benefitarts.com
Matthew K
i think maria poroy at access benenfits group is just fantastic. i am self-employed as
well and she explains everything. there is alot of personal attention and attention to
detail- i have referred many people to her company and all of them have been very
happy- 415 986 7726
www.accessbenefitsgroup.com
helaines
Jean Sturges Health Insurance Services 510-845-6688. She has
helped several people I know navigate through the health care
insurance maze. She can work with individuals and small
businesses. She usually ends up saving them money while making
the process painless
Julie P
I can recommend Diane Sickman, who lives in Oakland Hills and
whose office is in San Rafael.
Diane Sickman, Allstate, 532 4th St., San Rafael, CA 94901
Phone number: 415-453-4300.
She is helping a few of my entrepreneur women friends with
health insurance as well as other insurance matters, and they
are very happy with her assistance.
Diane is a former teacher so she has the skill to explain things
clearly, is very smart, has staff so never a voice mail maze and
she is very kind. I feel confident you will like her.
Please tell her I suggested you call her.
Louise G
Here's a free resource (step-by-step) that will help you
understand and finding affordable, low cost and even free health
insurance.
http://www.healthinsurance-help.com/affordable-health-insurance.html
The Web site has sections for people who are unemployed or
recently laid off, self-employed, and pregnant women who can't
find insurance.
There's also a Free Health Insurance Quotes section that
provides you access to health insurance agents or get insurance
quotes online.
Hope this helps.
Ann
June 2006
My husband and I are paying $1000+ for health insurance for our
family (2kids), and we would like to switch to a different plan
where we pay less per month, but have a higher deductibe, and
maybe even pay more of a co-pay. I'm just really skeptical of
a lot of plans, and want to make sure that my family is covered
with all expenses (less the deductible) should there be an
illness or an emergency (hospitalization, surgery, etc...)
I'm so confused about the different plans, quotes, etc..., that
I thought maybe I can get some recommendations from this
group. We currently have Blue Cross HMO without Dental, and
belong to the Brown & Toland Medical Group (we live in S.F.)
Any recommendation for health ins. plans and/or Independent
insurance brokers would be greatly appreciated. I checked out
the website but the latest recomm. is from 2003. Thank you!
Health Insurance illiterate!
We are working with a broker now to fix the same type of problem
(outrageous fees/high deductable). So far, we like her and she
has done a lot of research for us to best suit our needs. We're
looking at a new type of plan that has a low monthly pmt (well,
I not EXACTLY low, but lower than we are paying now) and no
deductable. You just pay a % of fees rather than a co-pay
(except for regular office visits, which would be a small co-
pay). It sounds good so far. Since we're still in the process,
I can't tell you yet if it is great and how she is completely,
but you can always give her a call and see what you think. Her
info is:
Christine Anderson
Anderson & Company Insurance Services
985 Rolling Woods Way
Concord, CA 94521-5420
Good Luck!
I just posted above for another insurance question, but in case
you don't get to that one...here is our situation...we pay
$350/month for a family of 4 (34, 36, 3, 1) with BCBS PPO 2500.
They cover maternity (max $2500 out of pocket), and 70% of well
visits including vaccinations, etc. We had no pre-existing
conditions, etc, so I feel this is reasonable, but Kaiser is less
expensive. Check out the website for BCBS, we went through a
broker named Brian Fitzgerald and are in the process of moving
now and I'm unable to find his number. I think he is with
Spectrum in Concord or somewhere else east of the tunnel.
Good luck
Jodi
When I lost my health insurance last year after reducing my
hours at work, I joined an organization. I am licensced
Professional Engineer and hence joined their org. Through them,
we have health insurance (Health Net HMO). The broker is RL
Wells and Associates (800-568-4500). They are based in the
central valley and are great. My daughter's health insurance is
not through the org (Blue Shield PPO). They have also helped us
get life insurance
karenm
Dec 2005
Can anyone recommend a good health insurance broker? I am looking for an
individual plan for myself and my daughter since I was recently informed that
my group plan ends as of January 31. I'm looking for someone who can tell me
what my options are and guide me through the application process (a step
beyond ehealthinsurance.com, etc). Thanks!
AS
Keith Vaisnor of KEV Insurance gets rave reviews about his ability to provide health insurance to almost anyone! (925)299-
8726. He has a terrific website as well, KEV-insurance.com. Very personable, has small children himself.
Julie G
March 2005
I need to get individual health insurance, and I'm not having
much luck sorting things out online. I understand that working
with an agent might help me find a better deal. I've heard that
Blue Shield has the best rates for individuals, but I'd also be
interested in working with someone who represents multiple
companies in order to compare plans.
Caroline
If you need health insurance, you couldn't do any better than
Daun Pullem. She's self-employed herself, so she can understand
all manner of needs. You can reach her at 559-994-6101. (Don't
be put off by the distant area code - she can come up here
anytime.) Honest, ethical, and hardworking . . . plus an
awesome sense of humour!
Kathleen
We recently worked with Carol Nickovich
(http://www.nickovich.com) to set up health insurance for our
small (3 people) business, but I know she handles individual
plans, too. She was great - very good at laying out the options
and liaising with Blue Shield during our application process to
make sure all the i's were dotted, as it were. She works with
several major providers (Aetna, Blue Shield, HealthNet, etc.)
JP
I can highly recommend Edith Price. She is very customer service
oriented and has a vast knowledge of insurance. I got my
individual health plan through her as did a number of friends of
mine. She also takes care of the insurance for my brother's
business. All have reported back with positive feedback.
Edith Price
ejprice at msn.com
925-930-9449
Regards,
sandy
Happy to recommmend independent insurance broker Bett Martinez. She's very
informed --- been doing this for many years. You can contact her at
well-being at pacbell.net.
Susan F
Jan 2005
My husband & I are self-employed and want to shop around for
good health insurance through an insurance broker - can anyone
recommend a good one?
diane
We just used broker Carol Nickovich to set up group insurance
for our 3-person company and I would highly recommend her. She
handles individual plans as well. She was patient, thorough and
good at explaining things and suggesting options. She's based
in San Ramon, but had no problem meeting with us in/near our
Oakland office. www.nickovich.com for more info.
JP
Instead of buying an expensive health insurance policy, have you considered a
Health Savings Account? If you and your husband are self-employed, you probably
qualify for one. A Health Savings Account is like a ''health care IRA'' in that all
deposits are pre-tax or tax deferred dollars. You can pay for all qualified medical
expenses from your HSA. including chiropractic care, massage therapy, nutritional
supplements, and even yoga classes. Check out www.naturalhealthhsa.com for
great information about what HSA's are and how they work, or call Carole Rogers
after you've looked at the website. I wish I qualified!
Lynn F., RN
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