Resources

No, as brokers we’re paid by insurance companies via commissions. It costs you nothing extra to use our help. Your premiums would be the same whether you go direct or through us – but with us, you get personalized support.

Many! For health insurance, we work with major California carriers like Blue Shield of California, Anthem Blue Cross, Health Net, Kaiser, Oscar (if in area), and for Medicare we work with plans from companies like UnitedHealthcare, Humana, Aetna, Anthem, Blue Shield, etc. We also offer dental through Delta Dental, Beam, and vision through VSP.

Lacey Bowman (License #0E64412) is certified with Covered California (the state marketplace) and with various Medicare plan carriers to offer their products. Brandy Hollingshead (License #0B84856) is also a licensed agent supporting our clients. We stay up-to-date on industry changes to provide clear, current guidance.

We’re based in Grass Valley and primarily serve clients in Nevada County and surrounding areas (like Penn Valley, Nevada City, Auburn). But we’re licensed for all of California – we can assist anyone in the state remotely. For Medicare specifically, we can help all California seniors. Being local, though, we know the specific doctors and facilities in our region well.

Just give us a call at 530-272-9000. We do phone appointments or in-person meetings by request. Our office hours are 9-5 M-F (office visits by appointment). You can also fill out the contact form on our site and suggest a best time to call – we’ll get back to you promptly. We strive to be flexible to accommodate your schedule.

About 2-3 months before you turn 65. That’s when you’ll get your Medicare card if you’re already on Social Security; if not, you should actively enroll via SSA. We often start consultations a few months before 65 to lay out the timeline.

If your employer has 20+ employees and you like your work plan, you can delay Part B without penalty until retirement (just ensure you enroll in Medicare within 8 months after losing work coverage). If the employer is small (<20), Medicare should be primary at 65, so you’ll want at least Part B to avoid gaps. We can look at your specific situation and advise.

On-exchange means through Covered California (eligible for subsidies if you qualify). Off-exchange is directly from the insurance company (same plans mostly, just without going through the state marketplace). We can help with both; if you qualify for a subsidy, we’ll use CoveredCA to get it. If not, off-exchange enrollment is fine.

Emergency care is covered anywhere for true emergencies on almost all plans. Routine care out-of-state depends: PPO plans may have national networks or out-of-network coverage. HMO plans generally only cover urgent/emergency out of area. If you travel often, let’s consider a plan with a broad network (or even consider travel health insurance for extended trips).

On HMOs, you’ll need a referral from your primary doctor to see a specialist (except certain ones like OB/Gyn often). On PPOs, you can go directly to any specialist in-network (or even out-of-network at higher cost). EPOs let you go to specialists in-network without referral too. This ties back to plan type choice.

The federal mandate penalty was reduced to $0 in 2019. California, however, does have its own state mandate – a penalty if you go without coverage for over 3 months of the year. For 2025, the penalty can be $800+ per adult (similar to prior years). So it’s financially wise to get at least a minimal coverage. Plus, going uninsured is risky for your health and wallet. (We cite Holt law maybe if it mentioned no requirement <50 employees, but not directly relevant. Might skip citation here.)

Yes, small group plans in California are available for businesses with as few as 1-2 employees (assuming one is not the owner’s spouse in a proprietorship). We’ll need documentation like DE-9C payroll to show an eligible employee, but it’s doable. It can actually be cost-effective, and premiums are often tax-deductible for your business.

No, you can share the cost. California law requires employers to pay at least 50% of the employee-only premium on a small group plan. You can pay more if you want to be generous, but 50% is the minimum. You aren’t required to contribute toward dependents’ premiums (though you can).

Many small business programs (like Covered California’s SHOP or certain carriers) allow choice – e.g., employees might pick from a couple of plan options you offer (maybe a PPO vs HMO, or a Gold vs Silver). We can set it up to give some flexibility while the company still contributes a defined amount. If you prefer simplicity, you can also stick to one plan for everyone.

New hires can be added usually on the first of the month after they satisfy any waiting period you set (like 1st of month after 30 days of employment). They don’t have to wait for open enrollment; hiring is a qualifying event in group coverage. Conversely, if an employee leaves, that triggers COBRA/Cal-COBRA offering but we simply remove them from the group plan at end of month. We manage those changes for you.

Generally, as long as you have at least 1 common law employee enrolled, you can maintain a group plan. If you truly drop to zero (only owner left), you’d have to switch to individual coverage. We can advise based on your staffing cycles – sometimes there are ways to keep the group active.