Public announcement regarding health care for children

From the Department of Insurance:

Act Before March 1st to get Lower Premiums for the Health Care Your Children May Need!!

Important Enrollment Window Closing Soon

If your children are uninsured, there are new options to get them covered, but it's important to act now!
Visit finder.healthcare.gov to search for coverage options. 

Individual Insurance

With many employers cutting back on health insurance, more Californians may need to shop directly with an insurance company or insurance agent for child or family coverage. This "individual market" insurance can be expensive, but keeping some important rules in mind may help:

  • No More Denials for "Pre-Existing Conditions"
    Because of the new federal health care law, all children must be offered health coverage if they apply. Insurance companies can no longer deny kids coverage because of a "pre-existing condition" like asthma or diabetes.
  • Apply Before March 1st to Avoid Much Higher Costs
    If you wait and apply after the "open enrollment period" ends on March 1st, you could face much higher premium costs since there are no limits on premiums outside the open enrollment period. After March 1st, the next "open enrollment period" is the month your child was born. For example, if your child's birthday is August 8th, you can apply during the entire month of August, without facing significantly higher premiums. (There are other open enrollment periods based on changes in family circumstances such as a birth, divorce, job loss, or loss of public coverage.)
  • Keep Your Children Insured to Avoid Higher Costs
    You may face a significant penalty premium increase (20 percent) if you let your child's coverage end and then apply again, so keep your children insured.
  • You Have Protections if Your Child is Denied Coverage
    Remember, the health care law means that no child should be denied insurance for health reasons. If your child is denied coverage for any reason, call the state health insurance hotline at 1-888-466-2219.

Affordable Insurance Options: Healthy Families and Medi-Cal

Boy using inhalerIf a private insurance plan is unaffordable, don't give up. With the recession hitting California families hard, low-cost or no-cost insurance from Healthy Families and Medi-Cal keep millions of California kids healthy. Your child may qualify if your family income is up to roughly $46,000 annually (for a family of three – higher for larger families). For more information call 1-877-KIDS NOW or visit www.100percentcampaign.org/needinsurance/.

Your Job

If you have health coverage through your job, it is not affected by this open enrollment period and you should check with your employer to see if your child can join your health plan too.

 

HOUSING REFORM-2009 Panacea or Panic?

The news is full of housing reform stores but the shelf life for reform legislation seems shorter than that of freshly baked bread—what made the news just yesterday is often obsolete by today.Congress

We expect 2009 to be a turbulent time in real estate. Knowing how to weather the storm is paramount to the survival of homeownership.

Key Elements

President Obama signed a $787 billion stimulus bill which includes many features to protect homeownership.

These are a few of the incentives targeted to help 4-5 million responsible homeowners stay in their homes:

\\· Provide access to low cost refinancing where borrowers who have less than the required 80% loan-to-value could refinance to lower their monthly payment.

· Seventy-five billion will be spent on homeowner stability initiatives to help struggling homeowners who, because of the recession, are hard pressed to make their mortgage payments and cannot afford to sell or refinance their home due to a drop in value.

· No aide to speculators. The initiative has no provision for assisting investors or speculators.

· Provide support for homeowners who are at imminent risk of default before they miss a payment.

· Provide loan modifications to bring monthly payments to sustainable levels.

· â€Pay For Success”—Initiative for loan servicers to receive $1,000 per month each month a borrow stays current on their loan.

· â€œHelp Borrowers Stay Current”—Provides a $1,000 per month reduction in a home owners’ principle loan balance for five years if the borrower keeps their payments current.

· â€œReaching Borrowers Early”—An incentive of $500 to loan servicers and $1,500 to mortgage holders if they modify at-risk loans before the borrow falls behind.

· â€œHome Price Decline Reserve Payments”—Holders of mortgages modified under the program would be eligible for an additional insurance payment (from a newly formed entity under the Treasury Department) on each modified loan to offset declines in the home price index.

There are quite a few more initiatives to help homeowners. Though many do not apply to the majority of the loans on the Peninsula since they are not held by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac.

Lenders Are Worried.

Recently, many lenders have been modifying loans without incentives just to keep their head above water. However in contrast to the President's incentive plans, many banks require the homeowner to be months behind in payments before any relief is possible.

â–ºIf your mortgage is scheduled for an interest rate increase which you feel you may not be able to afford, we encourage you to contact your mortgage holder immediately and see if they will modify your  existing loan. It’s in everybody's best interest if homeowners can continue to make their monthly payments, even if it takes a loan modification to make it happen.