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What is Grandmothering?Grandmothering is the new term for Grandfathering and it is the extension granted by the Obama Administration allowing small businesses and individuals to keep their current health plans until October of 2016.Grandfathered plans are policies that were purchased prior to March 23, 2010. Because they were purchased prior to health care reform the plans do not have to follow all of the rules of ObamaCare. Individual insurance carriers can choose to still continue to carry or discontinue Grandfathered plans and there is no law preventing the insurance carriers to continue to cover you.What are the pros and cons of a grandfathered plan?The cons of grandfathered plans is that they do not have to comply with ObamaCare standards meaning your plan may not cover 100% of preventative services such as a well-checks and you may have to pay a fee for a colonoscopy and there is no requirement for pediatric dental coverage for your children.Some of the pros of keeping a grandfathered plan would be that employers are allowed to offer tiered benefits to their employees based on their salary.What individuals want to know…will Grandfathering help keep my health insurance costs low?Answer: it depends.Possibly because one of the exceptions of Grandfathered plans is the 100% coverage of all preventative services. This does not affect Grandfathered plans and do not raise fees for that and could help keep health insurance costs down.Please note that all health insurance plans regardless of grandfathering status must allow you to keep your children on your plan until the age of 26, end of lifetime limits on coverage and also end arbitrary cancellation of health coverage such as making a mistake on your application there is also no coverage exclusions for children under the age of 19 who have pre-existing conditions.To read more about Grandmothered and Grandfathered plans, please follow this linkhttps://www.healthcare.gov/what-if-i-have-a-grandfathered-health-plan/

Health Insurance terms can be confusing, so we'll do our best to keep it simple. A co-payment is a set fixed amount that you always pay for medication, medical office doctor visits or a procedure at a facility when you receive a service. This co-payment amount, even though it’s fixed, is part of your out-of-pocket expenses. This amount is also separate from any premiums or deductibles your health insurance plan has.Co-insurance is the amount, usually a percentage, that you share with your insurance carrier. Your insurance company pays a percentage and you pay a percentage. This amount, like a co-pay, is also separate from any premiums or deductibles.Here's a co-insurance scenario…let’s say you’ve already met your deductible for the year and you have an insurance plan that has 80% / 20% co-insurance coverage after your deductible is met. If you were to go to the doctor and the fee for your visit is $100.00, you would pay $20.00 and your insurance company would pay $80.00, this is your “co-insurance” amount.Important note, with a major medical policy there is a co-pay and co-insurance “maximum out of pocket” amount you will pay. Once you have paid out the "maximum out pocket" amount, the policy usually covers the remainder of your expenses. Policies vary, so it is important to read your policy documents carefully. Or, if you are not into reading insurance policies then call your health insurance broker or the insurance carrier's customer service department with your questions.Want to read more about Co-pays and deductibles? visit www.debt.org/medical/health-insurance-premiums/

Over the past few years Colorado has seen numerous catastrophic wildfires that brought to light a very uncomforatble truth. Most Coloradoans do not keep their homeowners insurance policies up to date to provide adequate coverage in the event of total loss. In response to this issue, Colorado stepped up and passed the Homeowners Insurance Reform Act of 2013 which has become active since January 1, 2014 in Colorado.What does this mean to Colorado Homeowners and Homeowners Insurance companies?For the Insurance Carriers:

• Homeowners insurance companies must update all policy language so it is easy to understand - which means written at a 10th grade level.
• Every two years, the homeowners insurance company must provide its policyholders an updated estimate of the replacement cost based on construction inflation index.
• All homeowners policies must provide at least one year of additional living expense coverage at all for up to 24 months of additional living expense coverage.

For the Homeowners:

• There will be a disclosure in all homeowners policies that puts the responsibility back on the policyholder to determine whether there are amount of insurance is adequate.
• Homeowners will have the option of collecting 25% of their contents coverage reflected in the policy declaration without requiring a contents inventory.

The big thing to remember is that the disclosure above protects the insurance company. Here are two things Martin Insurance Group recommends:

1. Review your policy with your agent to make sure the amount of coverage your policy carriers is in line with the replacement cost provided by your carrier.
2. Don't assume market value is the same as cost of new construction.

Bottom line is, you the homeowner are now fully responsible for making sure your home is insured to its replacement value. Your carrier is doing your replacement cost homework for you, and your agents at Martin Insurance will be glad to review the changes with you, so please do not hesitate to contact our office to schedule a review.

Blog about the county commissioner in Garfield County planning on suing Colorado and the Federal gov't for unfair Health Insurance rates in Garfield County. Although state statistics show our county two B 17th of 64 counties, we happened to be number one in the highest Health Insurance rates.

Although most residents in the Aspen area moved here because of the "laid back" lifestyle and to get away from crime rates in larger cities, we must remember that we are not immune to crime. For the first 10 years I lived here I never locked my home or my car doors. Many Roaring Fork Valley residents I speak to never lock their doors either but after recent events, it may be a good idea for all of us to rethink that policy.A recent article written by The Aspen Times on February 26, 2014 Vehicle Break-Ins In Snowmass area report at least 10 vehicles broken into and robbed on the evening of Tuesday, February 25, 2014 all of which have been left unlocked. We've also seen a number of recent break-ins where a contractors tools are stolen from their vehicle.Although contents inside the vehicle are usually covered under a homeowners insurance or renters insurance policy, normally coverage begins after the deductible has been paid out. Additionally, auto insurance does not cover contents inside your vehicle. The best prevention for such an event is to simply lock your car and remove valuable items. It's also a good idea to leave valuables out of sight if they are left in the car.A little prevention against crime can go a long way to protect you and your belongings even in our beloved town of Aspen.

I have seen and heard quite a bit about the future of self driving cars. In fact, self driving car technology already exists, and is being tested on public roads in 4 states. Your current vehicle may already possess some of the technologies used by self driving vechiles such as rear collision prevent, self parallel parking, rollover stability and pedestrian alert. Google, Ford, Nissan, Mercedes Benz and others have already developed self driving vehicles.If you keep a close eye out, you may even see a self driving car on the road. A recent Wall Street Journal Article from February 20, 2014 mentions that four states have already passed laws allowing the testing of self-driving cars—Florida, California, Nevada and Michigan - but thankfully not in Carbondale, Colorado (yet). Proponents of this technology argue that it would help reduce accidents by eliminating human errors and distractions and would make commute time into productive time. Opponents of this technology are skeptical of its reliability and safety.Some of the people who may benefit the most from self driving cars are the elderly and disabled. There is an amazing You Tube - Actual Self Driving Car video where a blind man is able to have independence again thanks to a self driving car.A very interesting possibility of self driving cars is that they may end up lowering your auto insurance rates. What experts are saying is that instead of humans being liabile for driving mistakes, they would look to the manufacturers of the vehicle and its technology as the liable party. The good news is you could pay less for auto insurance but the bad news is you may pay more for your vehicle to cover manufacturers liability.I don't know about you, but I'm a little leery of computers in control of cars. I think I can make better driving decisions than a computer, and frankly I just don't trust technology that much - at least not yet. Just thinking of how often my computer at work has glitches it is a good thing it doesn't run my office. There is a lot more at stake if a computer freezes while propelling a 5000 pound peice of metal. I can handle it if I am sitting at my desk and my computer freezes up. I just hit "control-alt-delete". But if my self driving car glitches up that's an entirely different story. So at least for the time being, if I see a self driving car on the road, I'm going to get as far away from it as possible!

Since it's tax season we should blog about how all of the filing of your taxes and may increase your knowledge about Health Care reform. After all ObamaCare is a tax. And if we can link to another blog posted by benefits pro.Taxes and Health Insurance

There was a recent Article about someone being sued for texting while driving

Blog about the enrollment for Coloradans through connect for health Colorado. One of the most interesting statistics since setting up the connect for health Colorado online Health Insurance marketplace is that 128,219 applicants have signed up for Medicaid whereas only 79,779 have signed up for private insurance. The statistics are accurate from October 1 to 2013 through February 17, 2014. One of the pluses has been the sites availability rated at 99.8%. one of the downsides is the average hold time of 12 minutes. Overall, it could be a lot worse!Most of the people that sign-up that is 56% qualified for a tax credit.Overwhelmingly, the age group of 55 to 64 has led the way in enrollment with 30% of the total overall enrollees.

Most of us know how shopping for the right health insurance plan for you as an individual or for your business can be difficult, but there are changes coming to Colorado that will make the process easier. The Colorado Health Benefit Exchange, scheduled to open October 1, 2013 will bring a competitive online marketplace where individuals and small employers can compare and purchase health insurance.
Martin Insurance Group is participating in the process of creating these exchanges to make the process of getting health insurance easier than ever.

There are a few rules regarding who can qualify to purchase insurance through the Exchange:

• Individuals with incomes from 133% up to 400% of the federal poverty level who do not have affordable minimum coverage through their employers will qualify for subsidized coverage through the exchange.
• Small businesses with up to 50 employees can also purchase insurance on the exchange.
• The Colorado Health Benefit Exchange is available only to Colorado residents.

We are excited to offer these new options to our customers. Our goals are:

• To help the uninsured secure coverage.
• To help those who need financial assistance affording coverage get the health care they need.
• To be a partner with the exchange offering the exact same options, products and prices as the exchange offer with sound advice to help customers select the best option for their situation.
• To offer private market insurance in addition to exchange products making us a true one-stop-shop for purchasing health care.
• To help guide our customers towards making good enrollment choices by properly explaining exchange plans, tax credits, and public and private program options.

We are committed to educating the entire community on how the Colorado Health Benefit Exchange will operate so that Coloradans can obtain the health care they need. Be sure to go online to http://www.getcoveredco.org to learn more or contact us today.