FAQs

Health insurance is needed to protect you from the high costs of medical treatments which could deplete your earnings and savings.

Open enrollment is the period in which you can buy health insurance. Open enrollment for the state of California this term is from 11/1/17-1/31/18. After these dates, you can only purchase coverage if you have a qualifying event.

Qualifying events are special circumstances which allow you to purchase health insurance after open enrollment has come to a close. The major qualifying events include marriage, divorce, having a baby, moving from another state or country to California, losing coverage through your employer (voluntarily or involuntarily), falling off of Medi-Cal because you are now making too much money, and turning 27 and falling off of your parents' coverage. *It is important to note that the purchase of coverage must occur within 60 days from the date of the qualifying event!

It's totally free! You incur absolutely no charges. The broker gets a fee from the insurance company for signing you up. It is also important to note that Steve makes the same commission no matter the level (bronze, silver, gold, platinum, etc.) of insurance he sells you, thus there is no reason to try and up-sell you. Steve works to get each of his clients the lowest, most affordable health coverage for their individual circumstances.

Why go through the hassle of signing up yourself? It is a long, drawn-out, tedious process. Take advantage of a costless service that Steve makes pain-free and enjoyable for each of his clients.

A deductible is the amount you must pay before your selected insurance company steps in o help you with your medical costs. The higher the deductible, the lower the cost of your health insurance!

A co-pay is a partnership between you and the insurance company, specifically meaning you both share in the paying of your medical expenses. Part of the reason for buying health insurance is to keep your share of the co-pay as low as possible.

NO! An insurance company cannot charge you more because of your gender.

If you follow the directions in the email you receive upon setting your appointment, Steve can get you insured over the phone within 25 minutes!

HMO - Health Maintenance Organization - It is managed care; you have a primary care doctor, who is your gatekeeper, meaning he or she decides your course of treatment, and whether or not you can go to a specialist. Steve would would describe it as "confining and restrictive," and prefers types of plans which provide more freedom of choice.

PPO - Preferred Provider Organization - You are able to pick your own primary care doctors, specialist doctors, and hospitals; there is no "gatekeeper." In the past, most PPOs provided you coverage outside of network for nonemergencies. As Steve would say, there is no true PPO left in the individual market in California, as the only PPO that is left, Blue Shield, is now charging a $5,000 out-of-network deductible. Still, a PPO offers much more freedom of choice than an HMO, and you have full coverage nationally & worldwide for emergences.

EPO - Exclusive Provider Organization - It works like a PPO in the sense that you have complete freedom of choice to choose your own doctors, specialists and hospitals, however you cannot go outside of network. Still, like a PPO, if you are in another state, or another COUNTRY, and are faced with a medical emergency, you have unlimited coverage under an EPO.

POS - Point Of Service - This is a hybrid plan; a combination of an HMO and a PPO. Rarely seen in today's times, like an HMO, participants designate an in-network physician to be their primary care provider, but like a PPO & EPO, patients may go outside of the provider network for specialist services.