About California Health Agents
About California Health Agents
We work for you, not for a carrier.
An independent insurance brokerage serving every county in California. We help people find Medicare, individual, family and employer coverage that actually fits, and then we stay on the file long after the policy is issued.
Who we are
California Health Agents is the California practice of Independent Health Agents, a licensed independent brokerage. We are not an insurance company and we are not a lead-generation site. We are licensed agents who sit on your side of the table.
Being independent means we contract with many carriers instead of one. Nobody at a carrier sets our targets, and no carrier pays us more to steer you toward their product. When we recommend a plan, it is because it matched what you told us about your doctors, your prescriptions and your budget.
It also means we will tell you when the answer is no. If you have full Medi-Cal, we will tell you that a Medicare Supplement policy cannot legally be sold to you. If your employer plan is genuinely better than anything we can offer, we will tell you to keep it. If a free HICAP counselor can answer your question faster than we can, we will give you their number.
Our compensation, in plain terms. Insurance carriers pay us a commission when you enroll. That commission is built into the premium whether you use an agent or not, so working with us costs you nothing and does not raise your rate. Commission rates on comparable plans are broadly similar across carriers, so we are close to indifferent about which one you pick. We would rather you stay happy for ten years than buy the wrong thing once.
How working with us actually goes
1. We listen before we quote
The first conversation is not a sales call. We ask which doctors you want to keep, what prescriptions you take, whether you travel or split time between two homes, what you can comfortably pay each month, and what you could absorb if something went badly wrong. A quote produced before those answers is a guess.
2. We shop every carrier available where you live
California’s insurance market is unusually regional. No carrier covers the whole state, and the options in Los Angeles County look nothing like the options in Humboldt County. We run your ZIP code against every carrier that writes there, on and off the exchange, and show you the comparison side by side rather than leading with one recommendation.
3. We stay on the file after you enroll
This is the part most people do not think to ask about, and it is where an agent earns their keep. After enrollment we are your point of contact for ID cards, billing problems, claim questions and denials. For Medicare Supplement clients we run a California Birthday Rule review every single year, because California gives you a 60-day window starting on your birthday to switch plans with no health questions, and most people never use it. For Covered California clients we re-check your subsidy every fall, because income changes and so does the benchmark plan.
Why California is different
Most national insurance sites give advice written for the average state. California is not the average state, and following generic advice here will cost you money.
Two regulators, not one
California has both the Department of Insurance and the Department of Managed Health Care. Which one covers your plan depends on what you bought, and it determines where an appeal goes.
The Birthday Rule
California gives Medigap policyholders a 60-day window every year, starting on your birthday, to switch carriers with no medical underwriting. Almost no other state does this.
Medigap under 65
Federal law does not require carriers to sell a Medicare Supplement to someone under 65. California law does, for beneficiaries who qualify through disability. Rates vary enormously between companies.
Covered California, not healthcare.gov
We run our own exchange, open enrollment runs November 1 through January 31, and the state funds subsidies on top of the federal ones. California also has its own coverage requirement.
HSAs are taxed differently here
California does not conform to federal HSA law. Contributions are not deductible on your state return and earnings are taxable annually. National HSA calculators overstate the benefit for Californians.
No short-term medical
California banned short-term limited duration health insurance in 2019. If a site advertises a cheap short-term plan to a California ZIP code, it cannot legally be sold to you here.
Where we work
We are licensed throughout California and work with clients from Del Norte to Imperial. Because carrier participation is regional, the first thing we do is check what is actually available at your address rather than what is available statewide.
California Health Agents is part of Independent Health Agents, which is licensed in multiple states. If you move out of California, or you have family in another state who needs help, we can usually help there too.
What you can expect from us
- A straight answer about what we do not do. We do not offer every plan available in your area, and we will tell you when something outside our shelf might suit you better.
- No pressure and no deadline games. Enrollment periods are real. Manufactured urgency is not.
- Your information stays with us. We do not sell or trade your contact information to other agents or lead buyers.
- A person who knows your file. Not a queue, not a different rep every call.
- An annual review, unprompted. Birthday Rule for Medicare clients, subsidy and benchmark review for Covered California clients.
- A pointer to free help when that is the right answer. HICAP counselors are free, unbiased and genuinely good.
Free, unbiased Medicare counseling: California’s Health Insurance Counseling and Advocacy Program (HICAP) has an office in every county and costs nothing. They do not sell anything. If you want a second opinion on anything we tell you, call them at 1-800-434-0222.
Start with a conversation, not a quote form
Tell us your ZIP code and what you are trying to solve. We will take it from there.
California Health Agents is a licensed independent insurance agency. We are not affiliated with or endorsed by Covered California, the United States government, the federal Medicare program, the California Department of Insurance, or the Department of Managed Health Care. We do not offer every plan available in your area. Any information we provide is limited to those plans we do offer in your area. Please contact Medicare.gov, 1-800-MEDICARE, or California’s HICAP at 1-800-434-0222 for information on all of your options. Premium tax credits and California state subsidies are available only through Covered California. Plan availability, benefits and premiums vary by county and are subject to carrier and regulatory approval.