California Health Insurance Quotes and Blog

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.

California Health Insurance Agent Matt Lockard offers Patriot T.R.I.P. insurance coverage in the event of the unthinkable.

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One Reason You May Need Trip Cancellation Insurance

Stanford R. Doe and his wife Jane were about to board the plane, Southwest Flight 6754, at Gate 3 in LAX when they heard the news. Up until that tense moment, they’d figured that buying T.R.I.P. insurance had been one of those purchases performed out of prudence in case of the unthinkable. But in that instant, they knew.

“Mr. and Mrs. Doe wait!” the urgent voice had shouted.

Because of what had happened, the couple had no choice. They walked as if in a daze, but unassisted to the airlines ticket counter to cancel their flight to Tunisia, where Stanford and Jane had long dreamt of celebrating their second honeymoon, although their first one had occurred a mere six months earlier.

They drove the rental to inspect the ruins. A gas explosion had gutted their home and all their belongings. They stopped the rental, a Rambler station wagon, in front of what had been their front yard. “All that grass seed wasted,” Stanford told his grieving wife with tears pouring down his cheeks, “and the automatic sprinkler system, it’s b-broken,” he sobbed, his voice choked by emotion and by the odor of charred dandelions in the fetid air.

“What will the neighbors think?” Jane cried out, as if she were a wounded self-conscious beast without a split-level, which she now was.

They still had a cell phone that worked. It was purple, a sad color. She put in a call to California Health Insurance agent Matt Lockard, as if to be reassured like the small homeless child she’d so suddenly become in her now infantile mind. He’d been expecting

a call from the forlorn Does, after reading about the explosion in yesterday’s news. Hearing Matt answer, all she could do was sob into the receiver.

“It’s activated. Don’t worry about your trip cancellation. You have full Patriot T.R.I.P. coverage. You and Stanford wouldn’t have enjoyed Tunisia under these circumstances. The travel agent will understand about losing his commission. He won’t be angry at you for canceling,” Matt spoke softly into the phone, realizing that a couple’s dreams had been shattered, both in the sense of where they were going, and where they’d been. But at least T.R.I.P. had saved them from what might have added insult to their injury.

“Thank you so much Matt,” Jane managed to blurt.

“Just doing my job as a California Health Insurance agent,” he replied self-effacingly. “I reacted instinctively when I sold you that policy. It’s what I do.”

A pleasant afternoon of Temecula Valley wine tasting is ruined by killer bees, but Chris and Sally Sadhart were at least prepared for the stinging contingency by their California Health Insurance agent.

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Wine Tasting

Chris and Sally would never have thunk it. They were an amorous and amiable couple, married for the better part of three years, prudent in the extreme, and were headed out to Temecula for a pleasant sojourn of wine tasting. “The tour will be fun,” Sally said, “and the local wines are superb.”

But there were so many wineries to choose from. Finally, a fateful decision was made. They turned their 2007 Toyota Tundra into the driveway and parked.

The tour began pleasantly enough. Harry, their guide and waiter, brought over twin tasting glasses of Syrah. “It’s a dry red table wine,” he said, “very nice.”

“Very nice,” Chris and Sally echoed in unison. The afternoon was perfect. A cloudless sky, not excessively hot, a little breeze was blowing at low levels near the ground, like a miniature headwind. It felt good on the skin.

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Next was a Cabernet Sauvignon. “This one is mild, note its deep red color, and its blackberry aroma,” the suave Harry said, dressed in a lavender Tuxedo, to accent certain flavors.

“Wow,” said Sally, “this is wonderful!”

“Indeed,” echoed Chris.

Harry interjected a factoid to make the couple’s experience yet more delicious. “Were you aware that this Sauvignon is aged in oak barrels for 18 months prior to bottling?”

He didn’t say that the particular oak tree on the premises used by the winery for bottling had been destroyed because it had been infested by killer bees.

“No, we weren’t aware,” Chris replied a little too loudly and emphatically.

The Zinfandel arrived next at their outdoor table. “This white dessert wine doesn’t age well, I’m afraid,” he spoke a second prior to the look of pure fear becoming apparent on his features.

At the worst possible moment, the Sadharts began arguing.

“It’s spicy,” said Sally.

“You’re wrong. It’s fruity!” Chris yelled with altogether too much emphasis.

The swarm of killer bees, guided to their table by the current of the micro-breeze and the vibrations of their arguing and possibly by Harry’s colorful if incongruous attire, began stinging the couple again and again. This did not feel good on the skin.

The Sadharts were fortunate that Harry had once been an ambulance driver and that an Urgent Care center was very close, and especially that the bills were taken care of.

“It was prudent of us to obtain emergency coverage from a California Health Insurance agent,” Sally purred through swollen lips a few days later. “We were extremely prudent, dear, although we’ll be in agony for the next few weeks.”

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