Mike Solis

Good news on Tonik Rates in New Hamphire! Anthem NH announced today that the Tonik plans will GO DOWN in October on average 4.2 percent. The rate decrease is part of an overall rate reduction for the companies most popular plans.  See the insurance rate schedule below:

• Blue Direct PPO and HSA received an average decrease of 4.7%
• Lumenos received an average increase less than 0.1%
• Tonik received an average decrease more than 4.2%
• Individual Blue and Conversion received an average decrease of 10.2%

Now this does not mean that everyone who has a Tonik plan will see their price go down 4.2%.  Some may see an increase while others may see their price drop double that amount. It really depends on the age band. Additionally if you enter a new age band (like when you go from 39 to 40) your price will go up to the higher age band. Any increase by entering a new age band is not reflected in the 4.2% expected decrease.

Still this is huge news. With health insurance premiums growing annually at double digit rates it is nice to be able to tell our clients that “Hey your Tonik plan will be less expensive than last year!”

Click the links for more information about Tonik or to contact us

By: Naya Jones

Tonik members in California can breath another sigh of relief as Anthem Blue Cross of California has pushed back the controversial insurance rate high again.

Why the Rate Increase for Tonik?

You may remember that in January 2010 some Tonik members were told their prices were to increase. Anthem Blue Cross said this was due to the increased cost of paying member claims for Tonik and their other health insurance plans.  There was a lot of negative feedback regarding the rate increase. Obama and many politicians including Gubernatorial candidate Steve Pozner, claimed that the increased rates were unfair. Anthem agreed to postpone the March rate action until May 2010 to let an independent group review the requested new rates to see if they were justified. Medicoverage sent out an update to our members explaining the Blue Cross rate action.  Since then we have been waiting to hear if Anthem would indeed raise health insurance premiums.

Will California Tonik Raise Rates in May 2010?

The short answer is: NOT YET!!!!  We haven’t seen the results of the independent analysis so know one knows if the original proposed rate increase will stick. All we know is that for now Tonik members who were slated for March rate hikes will not see prices go up in May as had been previously announced.  This time, however, they did not select a date for when rates may go up.  This should mean that if they do intend to raise rates in the future, they will have to give members 30 day notice.  We will send out emails to all our Tonik members who may be affected by any future rate increase.

If you currently have Tonik and would like to explore alternatives to your current plan, please contact our independent health insurance agentsor visit our health plan quoting tool.

By: Naya Jones

With health care reform moving forward, will Blue Cross Tonik health insurance still be the obvious choice for young people? For the last 5 years Tonik health insurance was the most popular plan with single individuals under 39 years old in the six states in which they operate (California, Colorado, Connecticut, Georgia, New Hampshire, Nevada). If the proposed health insurance bill passes, Tonik still may be the best choice. In the short term, this will be definately true. Here is why: The bulk of the reform efforts are set to take place in 2014. The main changes to take place before then only seem to enhance Tonik. We have listed the three main provisions below with our understanding how they will impact Tonik health plans.

1) No lifetime payment caps on insurance plans

The bill says that no plan within 6 months of approval cannot have a maximum payout limit.  Tonik currently has a $5 million dollar lifetime payout so this change would only improve the plan.

2) Reduce ability to rescind coverage

Rescission is a controversial topic where health insurance companies can cancel your plan if you have withheld any medical information in the application. While this has happened to less than 1/10 of 1 percent of members in the past,  it will no longer be allowed in the future unless the company can prove there was intended fraud. By reducing the ability of health insurance companies to rescind plans, the heath care reform only makes Tonik health insurance better.

3) Adult children to age 26 can be considered dependents on their parents plan

This is probably the biggest change to affect Tonik. If you qualify, you can stay on your parents plan longer than ever before.  While the law will force insurance companies to expand this coverage, there is no cap on the price to have older dependents. Insurance companies will probably charge a lot of money to keep adult children on their parents plans because the bulk of those who exercise this option will have pre-existing conditions. If you think about it, someone 25 years old who is still on his/her parents plan probably means they cannot qualify for individual health insurance. Without being too technical, this is called adverse selection and will raise the rates for all dependents on their parents plans.  Tonik, on the other hand, will still have an approval process. While its no fun to be turned down for health insurance, the pool of approved applicants on any plan with underwriting are healthier and therefore less expensive to insure.

As more details of the proposed plan become clear, we will keep you updated. To learn about the proposed penalty for not having health coverage check out

By: Naya Jones

To accomodate non English speakers, the Tonik health insurance applications are now availabe in Tagalog, Vietnamese and Spanish. The application are currently only available.
We have added Tagalog, Vietnamese and Spanish applications.

Spring is here, bringing with it an important milestone for many young adults—college graduation. Graduating from college represents a transition from partial to complete independence. While some graduates continue on to graduate studies, many either take some time off or enter the workforce - an exciting time that also happens to be coupled with several financial and lifestyle obstacles.

Upon graduation, many young adults lose their eligibility for health insurance coverage. Former students are no longer covered by their school’s insurance plan and many are no longer considered eligible as dependents on their parents’ plans. As a result, many young adults join the ranks of the 47 million Americans who are uninsured, making recent grads the fastest growing segment of the uninsured population.

According to a recent report by the Commonwealth Fund, nearly 40 percent of college graduates and half of high school graduates who do not enroll in college have no health insurance coverage at some point during their first year after graduation.

Many graduates don’t know how long their job search will last and are reluctant to purchase coverage they feel is unnecessary. The challenge for these twenty-somethings is finding a flexible policy that provides coverage for up to six or 12 months that also allows them to pay for coverage one month at a time. Once they obtain permanent coverage through an employer, they can simply stop paying the month-to-month premium.

Individual medical insurance can give recent graduates and their parents valuable peace of mind by protecting them from the devastating financial impact a catastrophic illness or accident can cause.

“We know that young adults are facing the challenge of seeking health coverage that is affordable,” said John Martie, president, Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Colorado. “Anthem has created innovative coverage options, like Tonik and Lumenos Consumer-Driven Health Plans that deliver practical coverage for a reasonable price.”

Though policy costs vary according to age, gender and location, they’re typically about one-third the cost of coverage through COBRA. Individual policies are easy to purchase.