[…] Colorado ranks among the top of the list in terms of how many people eat the recommended amount of produce each day, and yet the vast majority of our adults are not getting the recommended amounts (we only rank near the top because so many other states are doing so much worse). Health care reform has focused largely on expanding access to health insurance for the millions of Americans who are currently uninsured, and that’s a good start. But eliminating tobacco use and increasing access to nutritious food could go a long way in terms of improving the health of the American people.
Colorado Health Insurance Report By The DOI
Last month, the Colorado Division of Insurance released a report on health insurance in the state, and it is definitely be a good read for anyone interested in how health insurance works in Colorado. There are all sorts of interesting facts included. For example, only a third of Coloradans are covered by a health insurance policy that is regulated by the Division of Insurance. The rest are either covered by a self-insured employer plan or a government plan, or are uninsured. […]
Options For Maternity Coverage In Colorado Disappearing Fast
Getting individual health insurance with maternity benefits just got a lot harder for women in Colorado. For the last few years, there have only been three major carriers that offered maternity coverage on individual policies: Golden Rule (United HealthOne), Assurant, and Rocky Mountain Health Plans. As of the end of April 2010, both Golden Rule… Read more about Options For Maternity Coverage In Colorado Disappearing Fast
Balancing Individual And Group Health Insurance After Reform
[…] It remains to be seen how health care reform will actually impact the breakdown of individual versus group health insurance. Currently, there are far more people with group coverage than individual policies. The balance might shift a bit as health care reform takes effect, but I doubt that there will be a mass exodus away from group plans in favor of individual coverage.
Colorado Expanding Access To Medicaid And CHP+
A new state law that imposes fees on hospitals went into effect this week. Over the next few years, it’s expected to allow Colorado to expand access to health insurance to about 150,000 of the state’s 800,000 uninsured residents. The funds generated from the hospital fees will allow Colorado to expand access to Medicaid for adults, increase the income limit to qualify for Medicaid, and expand access to Child Health Plan Plus (CHP+) for children and pregnant women. […]
An Alternative To Rescission
[…] One way or another, my guess is that if all individual health insurance policies had to be thoroughly underwritten at the time of application, health insurance carriers would figure out a way to make the process as efficient as possible. And the happy result would be that if people were approved for coverage, they could rest assured that there would be no possibility of rescission in their future. It’s likely that thorough underwriting would result in more people being declined for coverage, but at least those people would then have the option of applying for coverage through a high risk pool like Cover Colorado. […]
When Less Is More
[…] The problem is that health insurance companies are paying for care with premium dollars collected from insureds, and as costs go up, so do premiums. Until we shift our attitude to a “less is more” mentality, we’re going to continue to see an increase in the cost of care, and subsequently in the cost of health insurance. But it’s not just about money. Articles like Maggie’s should give us a reason to question excessive screening and testing, simply from a standpoint of having a better quality of life. The fact that it could drive down health care costs is a bonus.
Anthem Rate Increase Likely Justified By Cost Of Claims
[…] As I noted last month, while Anthem’s rate increase for 2010 was a big one, their premiums are still very much in line with premiums currently being charged by other individual health insurance carriers in Colorado. My guess is that de Percin’s take on this is probably correct: “… it is outrageous but it’s probably not a case of gouging.”
Expanding Access To Health Insurance For People With Disabilities
[…] Will guaranteed issue health insurance – and subsidies to help pay for it – starting in 2014 also help to decrease the number of people receiving SSDI? If people had a way to obtain affordable health insurance without having to qualify as disabled, it stands to reason that there would be more incentive for people to return to work after a serious illness or injury.
Three Of The Top Insurers Extending A Hand To Young Adults
Three of the nation’s top health insurance carriers – Wellpoint, United Healthcare, and Humana – have announced that they will automatically keep young adults under the age of 26 on their parents’ policies between now and September 23, when the health care reform legislation guarantees this option for all everyone under the age of 26. […]
Compromises Necessary To Improve Access To Healthcare
[…] We definitely needed a solution to make health insurance available for everyone, and there’s no way to do that without taking away some of the freedoms from both sides (including the ability for insurance companies to decline applicants, and the ability for people to choose to not have health insurance). The legislation isn’t perfect, and it won’t please everyone, but hopefully a decade from now, the problem of millions of Americans living without health insurance will be a memory.
Not Enough Doctors Choosing Geriatrics
[…] There’s a pretty obvious need for a dramatic increase in the number of medical students entering the field of geriatrics, and it is a bit perplexing as to why the health care reform legislation didn’t put more emphasis on loan repayments and other financial incentives to encourage doctors to pursue a career in geriatrics. My guess is that as the shortage of geriatricians becomes more pressing over the next few years, we might see some additional funding aimed at solving the problem.
Colorado Ski Resorts And Health Care Reform
One of the aims of the health care reform legislation is to encourage employers to provide health insurance for their employees. In order to close the loophole that would allow employers to hire many part-time workers (and avoid paying benefits for them), the new law looks at the total number of hours worked to determine “full time equivalent employees”. On page 309-310 of the Senate Bill, the math is explained: […]
Eligibility For Colorado State Mandated Basic And Standard Plans
[…] All individual health insurance applications in Colorado ask a set of questions to determine if the applicant qualifies as a group of one. If the applicant does, and is declined for the individual coverage, the insurance carrier must offer group of one coverage instead (although it will be significantly more expensive than the individual policy). If the person does not meet the definition of a group of one, he or she will be sent a notice by the insurance carrier regarding eligibility for Cover Colorado.
Playing The Odds With Health Insurance
[…] The premium costs that are often tossed around represent group premiums, which are partially (sometime completely) paid by employers. Once individual health insurance becomes guaranteed issue in 2014, the premiums will likely rise to cover the cost of paying for pre-existing conditions. The only way to offset this rate hike is for more healthy people to join the insurance pool. That’s where the mandate comes in, and hopefully it will work.
Imerica Proceeding To Liquidation
Last fall, Imerica was placed in rehabilitation and stopped selling new policies. As of April 2010, however, the rehabilitation process has been deemed unsuccessful, and Imerica will now be liquidated. Imerica policyholders will be notified of the liquidation, and should begin looking for new coverage if they have not already. […]
Expanding Coverage For People With Health Conditions
One of the provisions of the new health care reform law is $5 billion in federal funding for high risk pools, set to begin operating this summer, that will provide health insurance for people with pre-existing conditions who don’t currently have health insurance. This is intended to be a stop-gap until 2014, when high risk pools will presumably no longer be necessary, since private health insurers will have to begin accepting all applicants in 2014. […]
The Impact Of Reform On Student Health Insurance Policies
[…] It stands to reason that fewer students will be in need of such coverage since dependents will be allowed to stay on their parents’ policies until age 26, but not all students have that option, and some will still opt to purchase health insurance from their schools. But the question remains as to whether student health insurance plans will fall under the scope of the new law that prohibits lifetime maximums and unreasonable annual limits. […]
How Reform Will Impact Lifetime And Annual Benefit Maximums
[…] Another question we’ve had recently has to do with lifetime and annual benefit maximums. So I read those sections of the Senate Bill and the changes added during reconciliation, to get a good understanding of exactly how the new legislation will impact individual health insurance policies. […]
Health Care Reform From A Doctor’s Perspective
[…] So unless rationing (explained in a positive light) becomes the industry standard for doctors, I doubt that any one doctor could make much of a difference, since people who are used to getting what they want from their doctors might just seek out another doctor. Hopefully as time goes by and more people understand the lack of sustainability with regards to health care costs, more people will be willing to consider the possibility that some forms of rationing in health care might be a good thing after all.
Governor Ritter Signs Health Insurance Gender Discrimination Bill
Colorado Governor Ritter signed a bill yesterday requiring individual health insurance carriers to charge the same prices for women and men. Colorado House Bill 1008 would go into effect January 1, 2011, and would require that gender no longer be used to set prices on individual health insurance policies that begin or renew on or after that date. So by the end of 2011, we can assume that pretty much every policy in Colorado will be impacted, as nearly all policies renew annually. […]
Rescission Still Allowed In Cases Of Fraud Or Misrepresentation
[…] Starting in 2014, pre-existing conditions will no longer be an issue when applying for individual health insurance, and one would assume that the practice of rescissions will also disappear at that time. But between now and then, applicants still have to be honest when completing applications for individual health insurance, as rescission will continue be allowed if it is deemed that the applicant committed fraud or intentional misrepresentation when applying for a policy.
Pre-Existing Conditions, Children, And Health Care Reform
[…] If I’m understanding the bill correctly, it looks like people (adults and children) will still be subject to full medical underwriting until 2014, and can still be declined for coverage until that time. It appears that policies that use rate increases rather than exclusions won’t be impacted at all, and policies that use exclusions will still be able to decline applicants, including children, until 2014.
Colorado Attorney General Questioning Legality Of Health Insurance Mandate
Colorado Attorney General John Suthers is joining with several other attorneys general who are challenging the legality of the requirement that all Americans carry health insurance, which is part of the bill that President Obama signed into law this morning. Basically, they’re saying that the federal government doesn’t have a constitutional right to compel citizens to take part in any specific market – including health insurance. […]
Health Insurance Options For Young Adults
One of the provisions in the health care reform bill allows children to remain on their parents’ health insurance policies until the age of 26. You may recall that a couple of years ago, Colorado passed a law allowing children here to remain on their parents’ policies until the age of 25, so the new law won’t have as much of an impact here as it will in states that currently boot young adults off of their parents’ coverage at younger ages. […]