California Health Insurance Quotes and Blog

Leonard was in a natural foods grocery store’s parking lot when a 94-year-old woman mistook his brand new Saab for a stop sign. It was a good thing his injuries were taken care of by a policy he bought from California Health Insurance agent Matt Lockard.

Health Insurance Helps in Car Crash

Leonard Durban was proud of his brand new Saab. It was chartreuse with a gold trim. It had no flaw or blemish. While shopping one fine sunny day, he’d purchased his groceries two bags full and was preparing to exit the parking lot of Nice Foods where natural foods were sold.

His Saab was stopped. But another car, a 1965 Studebaker which was the color of phlegm had approached from within the parking lot as Leonard looked on with horror. The driver, one Agnes L. Penta, an irascible 94-year-old, was practiced in cutting corners as she approached stop signs. She’d been driving this way for what seemed like an eternity at least for any traffic she unfortunately encountered. As far as she was concerned, Leonard’s brand new Saab had no right to be where it was. Even its right to exist was questionable in her murky mind.

“I always stop at the stop sign when I shop at Nice Foods,” she toldthe police officer called to the scene, “I can’t help it if he was in my way. He hit my car. I had the right of way.”

Leonard had tensed his muscles when he saw the phlegm-colored Studebaker approach, and impact triggered a generalized pain almost immediately. But within minutes as Leonard’s sad Saab story was ending, he recalled California health insurance agent Matt Lockard and he managed a weak smile.

“You stupid ninny. Why are you smiling like a jackass?” Agnes screamed at Leonard while flashing what could only be described as her characteristic reptilian grin. At that precise instant, all Leonard could produce in response was an agonizing grimace accomplished while smiling because he now knew it annoyed the vicious woman.

When the phlegm-colored Studebaker and its despicable driver had begun to recede into Leonard’s memory, and after he’d been treated to alleviate the neck and back spasms caused by the accident, a more pleasant interlude occurred. Leonard found himself inside the office of California Health Insurance agent Matt Lockard.

“You’re completely covered,” Matt said, “and your auto insurance covered the damage to your Saab. It’s fixed good as new. But that elderly driver …”

“I don’t blame her,” asserted Leonard, “Life’s too short.”

“Not for the woman who hit you,” replied Matt. “She’d take any moment she gets, and yours too.”

When a Father’s Day traditional pig roast results in accidental burn injuries to a gentle boy’s hands, it’s fortunate that his parents had purchased a child’s policy from California Health Insurance agent Matt Lockard.

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The Smuckers of Visalia didn’t make jams and jellies, but for five generations the family had purchased a piglet during the previous December from a local pig farm for roasting on the upcoming Father’s Day. Always the eldest Smuckers child would be charged with raising the piglet to maturity in order for it to be slaughtered on its appointed day in June. This festive and delicious tradition was eagerly anticipated by one and all, although the boy or girl raising the piglet usually had harbored mixed feelings amid a sense of dread about the animal to be inevitably sacrificed. Dan J. Smuckers had told his son Jeffy, age 8, not to get too attached to his piglet. “It’s not a pet Jeffy. It’s just your job to raise him so he gets nice and plump with good meat on him,” he warned.

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But Jeffy was unlike other Smuckers children preceding him. “Yes Daddy,” the boy said, but he already harbored forbidden feelings of affection for his piglet, having secretly named him “Spot” because of a small brown birthmark on its little pink hindquarters. Jeffy was a gentle kid and loved animals, but he’d never been allowed to have a pet.

“Spot” grew up at a normal pace and bonded with Jeffy, often letting the soft-hearted boy scratch him behind the ears. His eight-year-old mind tried frantically to devise a scheme to rescue his porcine friend from its looming encounter with the spit. The pig, for its part, grew big and fat. Finally, it was June, and time for “Spot” to be executed in the shed. Dan surmised his son’s misgivings, and performed the murderous deed when Jeffy was at a sleepover one Saturday. While Jeffy cried and screamed when he found out, he was quiet on Father’s Day until the festive time had arrived, and “Spot” was appropriately spitted. But Jeffy appeared like an avenging little angel when the party was in full swing and the cooking had commenced, and when the boy grabbed the red hot pig to wrench it off the spit ….

Jeffy really cried and screamed as both of his hands were badly burnt. As the family’s SUV raced along to the local hospital’s emergency room, Dan reassured himself with words that he hoped would calm his tender-hearted (and tender-handed) son. “Don’t worry Jeffy. I know you’re sad because of that pig. But at least treatment in the hospital burn unit will be covered because we purchased a child’s health insurance policy from our California agent, Matt Lockard.” But Jeffy just screamed all the louder.

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Moms to be unable to afford California health insurance coverage may qualify for the Access for Infants and Mothers Program (AIM) or else the Medi-Cal Income Disregard Program, both administered by the State of California.

If the Terminator’s controversial budget cuts somehow spare them, two health insurance options that financially struggling pregnant moms to be might target is AIM – The Access for Infants and Mothers program, a health insurance program administered by the State of California that is not a Medi-Cal program, and one that is, the Medi-Cal Income Disregard Program.

AIM provides full coverage private health insurance at low cost to pregnant women during pregnancy as well as a full two months beyond into post-natal. To be eligible, the family’s income must fall between 200% and 300% of the Federal Poverty Level amount as configured by the size of the applicant’s family. Property limits do not apply. Applications are accepted at local Social Service Agency Intake offices where an appointment with an Information Supervisor is appropriate.

Although the Income Disregard Program has a lower income threshold for eligibility, it involves considerably more “red tape.” Pregnant women seeking “Income Disregard” coverage must apply in person by visiting one of the Social Service Agency Intake offices and filling it out an application or calling an Intake office and asking for a mail-in-Medi-Cal application. Again, the Information Supervisor is the key contact person. But to “disregard” your income, you first must prove that you don’t have any, more or less. Applicants must provide proof of identity, proof of pregnancy, proof of Social Security number, proof of immigration status, proof of California residency, and perhaps most crucially, proof of income. So expect to bring along a slew of documents to your interview.

Requirements are stringent because the Income Disregard Program is true to its name. To eligible pregnant women, this special Medi-Cal program provides prenatal and postnatal care to pregnant women at no cost. But pregnant women applying for this program must be fully evaluated by an Eligibility Worker (EW) at one of the Intake offices and determined to have a share of cost. A share of cost is roughly equivalent to a monthly deductible. It is the amount for medical expenses that a Medi-Cal beneficiary must pay or be obligated to pay prior to any reimbursement for medical expenses by Medi-Cal. Also, the net nonexempt family income must not exceed 200% of the Federal Poverty Level while eligibility can begin no earlier than the first day of the month the pregnancy is reported.