In this article we will cover the individual health insurance plans from Blue Shield of California, Health Net of California, and Kaiser Permanente of California that are available in Bakersfield for Open Enrollment 2018, and how to find the best plan for the current 2018 plan year.
- Kern County, California health insurance statistics
- What are my health insurance options in Bakersfield?
- What are the most popular health insurance plans in Kern County?
- Do you currently have an Anthem Blue Cross individual plan?
- What Blue Shield of California plans are available in Bakersfield?
- What Health Net of California plans are available in Bakersfield?
- What Kaiser Permanente of California plans are available in Bakersfield?
- How do I know if my doctor is covered?
Kern County, California health insurance statistics
This year California is going through some major changes in the Covered California health insurance marketplace. Many health insurance companies are withdrawing from the state health insurance exchanges because they continue to lose money in the individual marketplace.
As the map above illustrates, the individual health insurance options in Bakersfield and Kern County have been limited to 3 health insurance carriers. Blue Shield of California will be the only PPO Health Insurance plan available in Bakersfield. Health Net and Kaiser will both be offering HMO plans.
Bakersfield is a part of the wider Kern County area.Therefore the most important thing to do is go over some some of the health insurance price changes that we will be seeing in Kern County, as a whole, this year.
The chart below illustrates what health insurance changes will be taking place in region 14, Kern County, during Open Enrollment 2018:
As we can see from the chart above the weighted average rate change for Kern County health insurance plans is a premium increase of 7.9% which is lower that 12.5% average premium increase for California health insurance plans as a whole. This is due in large part because Kern County still has a lot of health insurance carriers willing to offer plans in this region.
The unweighted average premium increase for Bronze level plans will be about 15.6% and the unweighted average premium increase for Silver level plans will be 12.6%.
Certain silver level plans that are only available through the Covered California exchange may have a premium increase of up to 26.7%. This is because we are not yet sure if the federal government will continue to subsidize these silver level Cost Sharing Reduction plans.
The following chart illustrates rate changes based on the 4 primary insurance carriers in Kern county: Anthem Blue Cross of California, Blue Shield of California, Health Net of California & Health Net Life Insurance Company, and Kaiser Permanente of California.
Blue Shield of California had the most people enrolled in 2017 with 39% of Kern County's total individual health insurance enrollment. Blue Shield PPO members can expect an increase in premium anywhere between 1% -13% depending on which plan they are currently enrolled on. Blue Shield HMO users can also expect an increase of anywhere from 2% - 18%.
Anthem Blue Cross of California had the second most people enrolled in 2017 with 29% of Kern County's total individual health insurance enrollment. The rate changes are not applicable because this year Anthem is withdrawing their individual health insurance plans from Kern County. Everybody who is enrolled in an individual plan with Anthem Blue Cross of California will need to switch to another carrier during open enrollment.
Kaiser Permanente had the third most People enrolled in 2017 with 14% of Kern County's total individual health insurance enrollment. Their premium increase will be in the range of about 6% - 10%
Health Net had the fourth most people enrolled with 14% Kern County's total individual health insurance enrollment. Health Net HMO members can expect a premium increase of 8% - 13%.
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What are my health insurance options in Bakersfield?
For Open Enrollment 2018, there will be 3 health insurance carriers offering individual health insurance plans in Bakersfield. These carriers are:
- Blue Shield of California
- Health Net of California
- Kaiser Permanente
Blue Shield of California will have both PPO and HMO individual health insurance plans available in Bakersfield. Blue Shield will be the only PPO option available in Bakersfield.
Health Net of California will have HMO and HSP individual health insurance plans available in Bakersfield. An HSP plan works very similar to an HMO plan except that you do not need a referral from your primary care doctor in order to see a specialist.
Kaiser Permanente will have HMO individual health insurance plans available in Bakersfield. Kaiser is a great option if you don't already have a list of PPO doctors that you are seeing.
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What are the most popular health insurance plans in Kern County?
The chart below illustrates the most popular health insurance plans in Kern County:
Silver level plans are by far the most popular health insurance plans in Kern County with 70% of new enrollees in 2017 choosing a Silver level plan. Silver level plans are the best option when you are trying to get the most out of your premium. Silver plans offer great coverage when you need to use them. And they don't cost too much to the point that you will regret having it if you do not use it often.
Bronze plans come in second with 15% of the total new enrollees in Kern County choosing a Bronze plan. Bronze plans are great when you don't have any problems. Bronze plans are normally the least expensive individual health insurance plans, but you should not just focus on the sticker price. Bronze plans cover almost nothing until you meet your deductible; bronze plans tend to have deductible of $6300 and a family deductible of $13,600.
The question to ask yourself before enrolling in a Bronze plan is, if you have an emergency, can you afford to write a check for $6300 if you are single or can you write a check for $13,600 if you have a family?
The third most popular health insurance plan choice is Bronze High Deductible Health Plans (HDHP) with 8% of Kern County's new enrollments. HDHP plans allow you to open a Health Saving Account (HSA). This type of plan is usually used incorrectly. This is the least expensive plan, but it is best utilized by a healthy person with a high net worth. The deductible is high and the coverage is minimal. The purpose of a HDHP is to build up a cash reserve of tax deferred money in the HSA that you can use to pay the $4800 deductible when you do need to use the plan.
The fourth most popular plans are Gold and Platinum health insurance plans, which made up a combined total of 6% of Kern County's total enrollment in 2017. These plans offer the very best coverage and they have a $0 deductible, but they can be overpriced. We generally only recommend Gold and Platinum plans when somebody is an expectant mother or a person has a chronic health condition that requires constant treatment and expensive medication.
For the average person or family, a silver level health insurance plan is generally the best option.
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Do you currently have an Anthem Blue Cross individual plan?
Anthem Blue Cross of California recently announced that they will be withdrawing their individual health insurance plans from most of California for the 2018 year. The California health insurance carriers have separated California into 19 rating regions. Anthem Blue Cross has chosen to withdraw individual health insurance plans from 16 out of the 19 regions. Anthem will be cancelling the vast majority of their individual health insurance plans effective January 1, 2018.
All of Anthem's Bakersfield health insurance plans will be canceled as of January 1, 2018
To see if your region is being affected and to understand what steps you need to take in order to replace your current Anthem Blue Cross plan please read our blog post on the topic:
California Health Insurance: Anthem Blue Cross Plan getting Cancelled?
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What Blue Shield of California plans are available in Bakersfield?
The following plans are Blue Shield's currently available individual health insurance plans in Bakersfield:
The chart below illustrates the rating (pricing) information available for Blue Shield of California individual health insurance PPO plans in Bakersfield and the wider Kern County area. These are for off-exchange individual health insurance insurance plans.
These plans are based on the currently available Blue Shield of California PPO 2017 rates. This table will be updated when the 2018 rates become available.
The additional chart below illustrates the rating (pricing) information available for Blue Shield of California individual health insurance HMO plans in Bakersfield and the wider Kern County area. These are for off-exchange individual health insurance insurance plans.
These plans are based on the currently available Blue Shield of California HMO 2017 rates. This table will be updated when the 2018 rates become available.
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What Health Net of California plans are available in Bakersfield?
For the upcoming 2018 year Health Net of California will only be offering their HMO & HSP products in Bakersfield. They will not be offering any more PPO health insurance plans in Bakersfield.
The following plans are the currently available Health Net HMO individual health insurance plans in Bakersfield:
These plans are based on the currently available Health Net of California HMO 2017 rates. This table will be updated when the 2018 rates become available.
The additional chart below illustrates the rating (pricing) information available for Health Net of California HSP individual health insurance in Bakersfield and the wider Kern County area. These are for off-exchange individual health insurance insurance plans.
A Health Service Plan (HSP) is very similar to an HMO in that there is no out of network coverage. However it is different from an HMO in that you do not need a referral from your primary care physician to see a specialist.
Health Net will only be offering Bronze and minimum coverage HSP in California for the 2018 year.
These plans are based on the currently available Health Net of California HMO 2017 rates. This table will be updated when the 2018 rates become available.
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What Kaiser Permanente of California plans are available in Bakersfield?
For the upcoming 2018 year, the only Bakersfield health insurance plans that will be offered by Kaiser Permanente will be their HMO products.
The following plans are the currently available Kaiser HMO individual health insurance plans in Bakersfield:
The chart below illustrates the rating (pricing) information available for Kaiser Permanente individual health insurance HMO plans in Bakersfield and the wider Kern County area. These are for off-exchange individual health insurance insurance plans.
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How do I know if my doctor is covered?
The best way to determine if your doctor is covered, if they don't work at one of the major Bakersfield Hospitals, is by using the "provider directory".
If you have or are interested in a Blue Shield of California plan you can use the Blue Shield Find a Doctor page.
If you are interested in a Health Net of California plan you can use the Health Net Provider Search page.
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If you have any additional questions about California Health Insurance plans please don't hesitate to contact The Lynn Company at (661)-873-2200 for more information about Bakersfield Health Insurance.