We have a long line of supporting our local community. From volunteering with nonprofits to serving in the military. There is an ongoing debate to file to become a Special Benefits Corporation.
Suzie and Matt get new clients on a regular basis that have no idea who their broker is or don’t like them. In other states, there have been rogue broker swaps so we are keeping our eye out for this in Washington .Before we work on an account, we request a person’s permission. It is important to note that for insurance the clients owns the relationship this is especially true for plans on the Washington Healthplanfinder.
To look at your account about a week prior to open enrollment and a week after, we have to be attached to your account as the broker of record. At Wenatchee Insurance, we don’t charge fees and are year-round so it is securing your customer service for the year. If we are not attached then we will not receive funds for the year from the insurance companies. (Yes, it keeps the lights on so we can lend a hand.)
Brokers in the same organization can lend a hand on accounts answering questions and updates. Yes, it means you have even more customer service. You can also have a navigator as well as a broker for additional service.
During the Open Enrollment Season November 1st through January 15th Suzie and Matt work many long hours where support to change broker of record on accounts is impossible if you do not know your passwords. It is why we recommend checking before a weekend or off-hour appointment.
If you find yourself with someone that you didn’t not select then an easy way is to go to the message center. They have an search feature for In-Person Help Update. If the person that is listed as your broker does not appear on your most recent option then a change is in order.
Then there you go, how to know who you consented to be your broker of record.
We hear about medicare fraud more than we like. Suzie and Matt have been working with health and medicare insurance for over a decade in Washington State. In addition with Shayla we make up Wenatchee Insurance. We do not work for Medicare. Here is the disclaimer:
“We do not offer every plan available in your area. Currently, we represent 16 organizations which offer 62 products in your area. Please contact Medicare.gov, 1-800-MEDICARE, or your local State Health Insurance Program (SHIP) to get information on all your options.”
Every agent is required to tell you a disclaimer and you will even see them on their websites. If you don’t receive one then you know that something strange is occuring.
Medicare Fraud does occur during the annual enrollment period.
The Medicare annual enrollment period runs October 15 through December 7 every year. It allows people with Medicare Prescription plans and Medicare Advantage plans to review and change plans every year. There is a lot of activity and chaos so we want to make sure that if you encounter anything strange that you can lend a hand in prevention. Having an appointment with an agent that you know can reduce the chance of fraud from occurring.
If you are not in our office in Wenatchee at 413 Mission Street then we are talking over the phone, it is on a recorded line. Medicare enrollments over the phone have been required for the last couple of years to be recorded. Yes, trained medicare agents record calls.
Medicare Fraud prevention tips
The Washington Office of the Insurance Commissioner has some great medicare fraud tips. The suggest checking the credentials when ever you have a question about who is selling you a medicare plan. We post copies of our licenses in our office lobby.
If you see Fraud then call 800-562-6900
When you report them. Let them know who they said they were and their phone number.
Today, Suzie & Matt are going to talk about Dreamers. The Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals. The program was designed to provide temporary relief from deportation and allow people to legally work. There is about 16,030 Dreamers are in Washington State and there are probably more waiting.
Dreamer is not an easy process to achieve. There is an injunction in Southern District Court that prevents confirmation of new filings. There is about another 100,000 applications in process. If you have not applied and meet the guidelines then filing could benefit you down the road
The important thing going on is the shift in Health Insurance for Immigrants.
In November 2023, Wenatchee Insurance started enrolling people into healthcare regardless of Immigration status. It is a great program that with a state-secure application grants access to the Healthplanfinder, Health Insurance, and monthly cost savings with tax credits.
This was the largest group of uninsured in the state. They didn’t have access to a large group plan from an employer. They are students, stay-at-home parents, or even worked small businesses. At Wenatchee Insurance, we have advocated for immigrants to be covered for over a decade.
On July 1st, 2023, the Healthcare Authority Authorized the first 10,000 immigrants into the Apple Health Program. Those who were enrolled in other immigrant health programs or enrolled with a current plan went first and were under 158% of the poverty level. Yes, this is the regular Apple Health program level. It allowed people to get medical treatment and the providers to get paid promptly.
If you are a Dreamer or a DACA recipient and other newly eligible individuals you will qualify for a Special Enrollment on November 1st, 2024, and have a plan on the Healthplanfinder starting as early as December 1st.
This will provide Dreamers access to Federal Advanced Premium Tax Credits which will lower their Healthcare costs further. If you have a current plan and are only using the state credits, then the application will have to be adjusted.
If you do not have health insurance, then we want to run the application, and you can have Healthcare before Christmas of 2024.
Set an appointment early as the Health Open Enrollment runs from November 1st through December 15th for plans that start January 1st, 2025.
There is an additional enrollment period of December 15 through January 15 for plans starting February 1st.
We have been dealing with COVID for a couple of years. From Masks to working through the first of the Covid Pandemic, and even mandates. It looks like the 2024 Enrollment Season will be no different this year.
The Annual Enrollment Period for Medicare runs from October 15th through December 7th. We have hundreds of people that enroll, get educated or change their Medicare Plan.
We see folks with various degrees of health. We want them to live long and prosperous lives. Currently Washington state is tracking three respiratory illnesses including COVID, If you suspect that you have an illness then let us work over the phone or with a video chat.
On Day 6 we test and test a couple more times and if nothing shows up we can end our masks.
We are stocking KN95 Masks in our office. You want a N95 or KN95 level mask. They run $19 per 50 and if you see us wearing them then we are in the middle of our testing cycle as we have been exposed.
If we are sick and lose our ability to work for two weeks then we can not see at least 86 families. Yes, our appointment spaces fill up and we work seven days a week taking care of people. Not only does that take away our household income for the year, it has the potential of taking away health insurance for families for the year.
Triple Point NCW provides free services for LGBTQ+ youth, their families and communities in Chelan, Douglas, Grant and Okanogan Counties. The National Survey on LGBTQ Youth Mental Health paints a rough picture with 45% of LGBTQ+ youth seriously considering suicide and fewer than 1 in 3 transgender and nonbinary youth finding their homes being gender-affirming. A positive person can reduce the risk of children not making it to adulthood.
Triple Point is part of the Children’s Home Society of Washington. They have been around since 1896. They have seven locations around Washington State. Each with different support programs with Wenatchee identified as a Future Hub for a streamlined and cohesive support system for children and families.
If you would like to lend a hand contact Dylan Sprodling directly at dylan.spradling@chs-wa.org or call 509-802-1136.
With The Suzie @ Wenatchee Insurance, we created an outreach page called OUTNCW.ORG where people can find healthcare including mental health professionals. We have been committed to all of our neighbors living their lives and getting clear access to healthcare is part of it.
We received our first harassing calls by an unlisted number for the first time. We have been running an insurance office in the Wenatchee Valley for years. As we saw the increase in outrage against the LGBTQIA+ community by extremists, we were waiting for the terrorism to start.
As a Veteran, Matt grew up defending American Values. While there may be debates and differences of opinion on specific human rights issues within the United States, the general commitment to human rights as a core value remains a significant aspect of American society and its national identity. The recognition and protection of individual freedoms and human dignity are considered essential components of American values.
Matt supported Gay marriage because of the difference that was occurring with annuities. Without marriage, gay couples were being discriminated against by being forced to cash out annuities instead of married couples that were allowed to transfer to another partner if one died early. It wasn’t until the Washington State voters passed Referendum 74 in November of 2012 that discrimination end in Washington State. Suzie & Matt even have the pleasure of meeting the first Wenatchee Couple that was married under that update a few years later thanks to Rotary.
Enter the ACA.
I have been a part of the ACA rollout since the beginning in Washington state. First as a producer then supporting the Enrollment Center in Washington. The ACA contains Section 1557 which granted protection nationwide for the first time for the LGBTQIA+ community for the first time.
Section 1557 of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) aimed to protect the LGBTQ community, among other groups, from discrimination in healthcare. The section prohibited discrimination based on various factors, including sex, in any health program or activity receiving federal financial assistance.
The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) issued a rule in 2016 interpreting Section 1557 to include protections for transgender individuals and other LGBTQ individuals. The rule explicitly prohibited discrimination based on gender identity and sex stereotyping, which provided important protections for transgender and gender non-conforming individuals.
The rule required healthcare providers and insurers to treat individuals consistent with their gender identity and prohibited the denial of healthcare services or coverage based on a person’s transgender status. It also protected individuals from being subjected to discriminatory practices, such as the denial of care or coverage, harassment, or being treated less favorably due to their gender identity or transgender status.
This was the moment that we realized that we were not doing enough in the community. By being quiet, hate was festering in North Central Washington.
We became the first in-person assisters within 50 miles to train with Out2Enroll for specialized training with the LBBTQIA+ community.
We set down money to be a vendor at the 2021 Pride Festival which was moved to 2022. In 2022, we added our voice by contributing our outreach marketing to let everyone know that we were going to be at Wenatchee Pride. We handed out 800 bags and got in some great conversations about insurance.
We participated in the Inclusive Banners for 2022 and 2023 for the Elvis Foundation.
We saw that we could do more. When we did outreach for the American Rescue Plan Act, it was identified that LGBTQIA households were twice as likely to be uninsured than CIS households.
We saw that more work needed to be done locally across insurance lines. Our vision for Wenatchee Insurance is to create a safe space so that everyone can understand and select needed coverage free from judgment. Shayla, Suzie, and Matt have spent years building an Insurance Agency from the ground up. Shayla had been doing account management with a crop insurance company, working with Progressive Devilry to update the region with human rights concerns, and was a member of the Wenatchee Pride board.
We became the first business in Wenatchee to join the GSBA. GSBA is Washington State’s LGBTQ+ and allied chamber of commerce, and the largest in North America. As we saw a means to recruit additional resources into Eastern Washington.
June and July of 2022, we began our Pride Tour. We are working with Pride Festivals in Washington State. We wanted to make sure that they had funds while we did our outreach to drive down the uninsured rates. Sometimes we tabled and sometimes we were able to do a sponsorship as funds allowed.
It shows us that we are needed and that our support of LGBTQIA+ and allies is more important than ever. If you want insurance then let us know and if you want to take potshots from unlisted numbers well, we are still standing tall after 30+ years of supporting the Great Melting Pot that is America.
WE return calls & are here for appointments..OR you can start your free online quote now!
For nearly a decade we have assisted with Health & Medicare Solutions. We are proud to be selected by the Washington Healthplanfinder to be one of ten Enrollment Centers located in Washington State.