AFFORDABLE CALIFORNIA HEALTH INSURANCE

Today there are more types of health insurance, and more choices, than ever before. Our independent insurance professionals will help you make the most informed decision possible. Whether you are looking for health insurance for the first time or you are looking to change or compare your current insurance, whether you are single or have a family to protect our service will help you get the coverage you are looking for at the best possible price.

Thousands of people take a gamble every day -- living without health and life insurance. You just can't afford not to have it. But affordable insurance can be hard to find, particularly if you're a hard working entrepreneur or if you're working for a company that doesn't offer benefits. Fortunately, we have a solution with our dependable, affordable health insurance plans for you and your family. Almost certainly, there is a plan that will fit your individual needs perfectly -- at a price you can afford. After all, if you can't pay the premium, all the insurance in the world is useless.

Individual Health Insurance Price Quotes

If you don't get health insurance through your employer, get the coverage you need by starting here with individual health insurance price quotes from Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield. Ready to calculate your own premium? We've made the process quick and easy. Simply fill out our individual health insurance price quotes request form, and you'll receive a rate quote, right now, based on the number of covered persons in your family, and the level of coverage you'd prefer.

Health Insurance, Medicine

In the past, health insurance in the United States took the form of voluntary programs. Health insurance was provided primarily by cooperative mutual benefit and fraternal beneficiary associations till 1850. Limited coverage by commercial companies was also introduced during that period, and then many plans were established by industries and labor unions. Advocacy of government health insurance in the United States began in the early 1900s. Theodore Roosevelt made national health insurance one of the major planks of the Progressive party during the 1912 presidential campaign, and in 1915 a model bill for health insurance was presented, but defeated, in numerous state legislatures. After 1920 opposition to government-sponsored plans was led by the American Medical Association and was said to be motivated by the fear that government participation in medical care might lead to socialized medicine.

Over the years in the United States, many plans have been set up by societies of practicing physicians, but the largest enrollment has been in Blue Cross and Blue Shield plans. These were set up as community-sponsored, nonprofit service plans based on contracts with hospitals and with subscribers. Most general voluntary plans accept subscribers, in groups or as individuals. These plans extend coverage to dependents and exclude accidents and diseases covered by workers' compensation laws. Although valuable in cushioning the financial distress caused by illness or injury, voluntary health insurance not only limits benefits in order to avoid prohibitive rates but excludes many people, chiefly the poor, who cannot afford it, and senior citizens, for whom the cost is often prohibitive.

During the middle of the 20th century, it became perceptible that legislation was necessary to give medical care for the elderly. A voluntary federal-state grant-in-aid program only if medical care to the elderly was first implemented in 1961. Legislation proposed by President Kennedy to provide medical care for the aged through the social security mechanism was defeated in 1961, but in 1965, during President Lyndon B. Johnson's administration, Federal legislation in the form of Medicare for the aged and Medicaid for the indigent was enacted. Since 1966, both public and private health insurance has played a key role in financing health-care costs in the United States.

Over 70% of all medical bills are now enclosed by government programs and insurance, and the number of people covered by some form of health insurance amplified from about 12 million in 1940 to over 225 million in 1996. About 38 million Americans were enrolled in Medicare, and there were more than 36 million Medicaid recipients. In that same year, about 187 million people were covered by private health insurance. However, more than 44 million Americans are not covered by any health insurance, and those who are have seen significant cost increases. As premiums increased from $16.8 billion in 1970 to $310 billion in 1995, and national health-care costs rose from $75 billion in 1970 to just over $1 trillion in 1996, many businesses increased the amount of money employees contribute toward their health insurance. This situation has led to continuing political pressure for restructuring of the national health-care insurance system. Congress debated many bills for a national health insurance plan in the 1960s and 70s, and in 1973 it passed the Health Maintenance Organization (HMO) Act, which provided grants to employers who set up HMOs. Unlike insurers, HMOs provide care directly to patients; HMOs were viewed as low-cost alternatives to hospitals and private doctors. In 1997 approximately 651 HMOs provided care to 66.8 million people.

In the 1980s and 90s political leaders again advanced a variety of national health insurance proposals. One plan backed by leading Democrats was known as "pay or play" because it would have forced employers to provide health insurance or pay into a national fund that would cover uninsured workers. A second, advanced by President G. H. W. Bush in 1992, would have provided tax breaks, vouchers, and other incentives to employers to extend health insurance benefits. A third proposal, based on the Canadian model and nationalized health care, was opposed by most doctors and the insurance industry.

Health insurance relates to a group of insurance policies which pay for health-related costs when the require arises and according to how each policy is written. There are many types of health insurance policies. The need for health insurance was well-known in the early part of the 20th century. The main reason to have it is simple: it can avert you from facing financial ruin if there is a calamitous illness or accident involving you or your family. At such a time, it is hard enough to deal with your health problems without the added knowledge that huge medical bills are punishing your savings and future financial independence. You probably already know health insurance is something you should never be without.

There are two general categories of health insurance available today: individual and group. Generally, a good health cover policy will cover several types of medical supplies. For physician's fees, insurance should cover both office and hospital visits. In relation to the hospital, insurance should pay for your room and your armed forces while there, although some treatments may be written into the policy as optional .Surgical fees and related costs, as well as lab and x-ray services, are typically covered also. There are many options that can be on paper into a policy. Whether you are shopping for either individual or group insurance, you should put thought into the specifics of what you and your family need.

Individual insurance is bought by those of us who have to give health insurance for ourselves. This may be for several reasons: for instance, if we are self-employed; if we work for a small business that does not provide a health plan; if we have a family and want individual insurance. In an individual plan, you will have a premium to pay yearly and a deductible for each insured dependent, up to a base amount. This deductible comes out of your pocket before insurance will set up to pay a percentage of the next medical fees. The percentage of fees or co-insurance is the quantity the health plan will pay for covered operating cost (often 80%), as set up when the policy is written.

If you are buying a group policy, you will have an annual premium, co-payments payable at each medical service, and a deductible payable before insurance will start to issue money for the following medical bills. Whether the insurance is individual or group, the amount of the deductible is determined at the time the policy is written and is decided by the person, group or business which sets up the health plan. In both types, you will have out-of-pocket expenses besides the deductible mentioned above. These comprise the percentage of fees your plan does not pay (often 20%) and any exposed medical services not included in your insurance policy. Whatever health plan you have, think of it as a deal between you and your insurance company in which you both consent to all the agreements made when setting up the plan.

For over 60 years, the Blue Cross name has been synonymous with affordable quality products and personalized service for millions of Canadians. The Blue Cross name is contained in a variety of trade-marks owned by the Canadian Association of Blue Cross Plans (the Association). Use of these trade-marks is licensed by the Association to independent Member Plans representing all regions in Canada. Under the terms of these licenses, Member Plans are required to meet certain performance and financial standards. Performance is monitored regularly, and any lack of performance could lead to cancellation of a membership and the license to continue to use the Blue Cross trade-marks.

This web site is operated by the Association. This web site contains links to other web sites, which are operated by Members of the Association. The Member web sites contain information about the Blue Cross Plans offered by each of the Members. These web sites are independent of the Association web site.Supplementary health plans for individuals, families, seniors and employers of all sizes persist to be the specialty of the Blue Cross Member Plans. The plans provide supplementary health and dental benefits, including prescription drugs, vision care, semi-private & private hospital rooms, short and long term disability, emergency medical travel, ambulance, home nursing, chiropractic and life insurance.

For more informations on our services contact insurance brokers John Good| Kelly Good