After 18 years of doing something, you start pick up a few tricks…hopefully. Add 12 years of direct online experience and those tricks take on a definite online flavor. If we could give you the most important tips you would need to get the best California health quote for you or your family, what would they be? That\’s was the question and below is the answer that could potentially save you quite a bit of money while making sure you have solid coverage. Let\’s begin with running your quote to get the best rates. As part of our goal to make information actually usable, we\’ll reference current plans and options so you can take this info directly into the online quoting engine.

1. Use the age of the younger spouse as the primary applicant. Some carriers will actually base the rate on the age listed first (which makes no sense to us) but don\’t fight it, list the younger spouse as the primary applicant/person.

2. Go PPO or HSA. The HMO plans no longer make any sense on the individual family California market which comes as a surprise to many people who expect HMO\’s to be cheaper. They are ridiculously expensive across all the carriers. There\’s no way to justify the cost.

3. Maternity will be covered on all plans effective July 1st, 2012 so that is no longer a consideration or a way to save. We can scrap that from our list of \”to have\” or \”not to have\”.

4. Some carriers (and even plans within) have their Out of Pocket Max (when plan goes 100% for covered benefits, in-network) include the deductible while others show the information separately. For example, Anthem Blue Cross of California Smart Sense plans show the deductible separately from the OOP. You have to actually add the two together to see your total exposure. Blue Shield\’s new July plans\’ OOP includes the deductible. If you just scan down, the Shield plans look like they have much more exposure but this isn\’t the case. We can help of course go through any plan comparisons.

5. You can generally eliminate 80% of the plans shown online as there are only a few suites that make any sense. The decision today generally comes down to Cross\’ Smart Sense plans (either with generic or brand RX) or Shield\’s Vital Shield plans (no longer available July 1st) which will be replaced by the Shield plans. Look at the deductible. Look at the premium and that\’s 80% of the decision. We can help you compare these of course. You the decide on medication option (generic or brand) and you\’re basically there.

6. For lower priced, catastrophic coverage, Anthem Blue Cross Clear Protection plans or Blue Shield\’s HSA plans are generally the best value on the market with the latter being more comprehensive (it\’s what I personally have). If price is the absolute qualifier for you, start here. Otherwise, look at #5 above.

7. HSA plans offer tax benefits if you can fund additional money into a tax favored HSA account. Shield\’s HSA plans are generally priced better and they have an embedded deductible (better for you).

8. You can mix and match benefits. Maybe catastrophic for adults and more comprehensive (office visits and RX coverage) for the children. Adults are more expensive than kids so this can work to your advantage.

9. The earliest effective date we can request is 15 days from the online app submittal (fastest option for applying). Keep this in mind when planning effective dates and prior coverage.

10. In California, payment is required with the application (can be credit card or auto-deduction) but you have a 10 day free look window from written notification of their offer to cancel the policy never effective for a full refund. There is no application fee and the rates you see in our online California quote engine are the best available.

Needless to say, there are many other questions that come up over the course of a day dealing with pre-existing conditions, prior-coverage, etc which we\’re happy to help you with. Everyone\’s situation is different. The above 10 tips will at least point you in the right direction and clear the haze that most new shoppers experience when purchasing California health insurance. You can run your individual family health quote at www.calhealth.net

Dennis Jarvis is a licensed California health insurance agent with extensive knowledge of the Individual California health market. affordable California health insurance

Dennis Jarvis is a licensed California health insurance agent with extensive knowledge of the Individual and Small Group California health insurance market. http://www.calhealth.net

Author Bio: Dennis Jarvis is a licensed California health insurance agent with extensive knowledge of the Individual California health market. affordable California health insurance

Category: Finances
Keywords: california health insurance, california health quote,individual california health insurance quote