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About Louise Norris

Louise Norris has been writing about health insurance and healthcare reform since 2006. In addition to the Colorado Health Insurance Insider, she also writes for healthinsurance.org, medicareresources.org, Verywell, Spark by ADP, and Boost by ADP, and Gusto. Follow on twitter and facebook.

Senate Bill 2 and Connect for Health Colorado’s Administrative Fee

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Last month, Colorado Senator Kevin Lundberg (R, Berthoud) introduced Senate Bill 2. In a nutshell, the bill calls out Connect for Health Colorado’s administrative fee as a violation of TABOR, since the fee is technically paid by people who aren’t enrolled through the exchange, could be considered a tax, and wasn’t voted upon by Colorado residents. Connect… Read more about Senate Bill 2 and Connect for Health Colorado’s Administrative Fee

The HWR is ten!

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Happy tenth birthday to the Health Wonk Review! We started writing about healthcare reform and related issues here on Colorado Health Insurance Insider in the summer of 2006, and quickly discovered the Health Wonk Review – which was in its infancy at that point. For nearly a decade, it’s been an excellent source of new ideas… Read more about The HWR is ten!

Would ColoradoCare be an adverse selection magnet for people moving to Colorado?

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Colorado will certainly be a state to watch in 2016. Not only is Colorado up for grabs in the presidential election, it’s also the only state in the country – so far – where voters will be asked to decide whether the state should switch to a single payer healthcare system, dubbed ColoradoCare. I explained… Read more about Would ColoradoCare be an adverse selection magnet for people moving to Colorado?

Holiday Health – Oh what fun it is!

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Julie Ferguson hosted the Holiday Edition of the Health Wonk Review today at Workers’ Comp Insider – don’t miss it! The HWR leads off with a piece in Health Affairs written by several notable ACA opponents. It outlines their alternate vision for reforming healthcare, and is sure to resonate with other ACA opponents. Some aspects… Read more about Holiday Health – Oh what fun it is!

Should open enrollment end by December 31 to prevent adverse selection?

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A year ago, I wrote a post in which I expressed the opinion that open enrollment should continue into January every year. At that point, the proposed guidelines from HHS had called for the 2016 open enrollment period to end on December 15, 2015 (ie, next week), and I noted that this would mean people… Read more about Should open enrollment end by December 31 to prevent adverse selection?

Standardized plan designs, proposed 2017 max oop, open enrollment, and more

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On Friday, HHS published their proposed benefit and payment parameters for 2017. It’s a good read, if you’re into HHS regulations. They’ll accept comments on the proposals through December 21, and final regulations will likely be published in February or March 2016. open enrollment schedule for 2017 HHS has proposed that open enrollment for 2017… Read more about Standardized plan designs, proposed 2017 max oop, open enrollment, and more

Thanksgiving Health

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Brad Wright hosted the Counting Our Blessings edition of the Health Wonk Review today, and it’s a cornucopia of excellent articles. One of my favorites in this edition comes from Wendell Potter, explaining why Obamacare is not collapsing. And an article from Health Affairs about rising death rates among white women under age 55 is a… Read more about Thanksgiving Health

Lesson from CO-OP failures: low premiums aren’t sustainable unless we reduce healthcare costs

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Healthcare accounts for 17.4% of the US GDP. And yet most of us can’t or won’t include a healthcare line-item in our budget that accounts for 17.4% of our annual spending. Whenever health insurance carriers raise their rates – particularly if it’s a significant increase – there tends to be a public outcry, with the carriers… Read more about Lesson from CO-OP failures: low premiums aren’t sustainable unless we reduce healthcare costs

Why is Colorado Health OP shutting down?

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UPDATE, 10/20/15: On October 19, Colorado Health OP filed a lawsuit in Denver District Court, seeking an injunction and temporary restraining order to allow the carrier to continue to sell policies – and participate in the 2016 open enrollment period – while working for the next few weeks to secure funding from one of the… Read more about Why is Colorado Health OP shutting down?

A harvest cornucopia of health wonkery

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Joe Paduda did an excellent job with this week’s Health Wonk Review. If you’re looking for some good weekend reading material, look no further. I highly recommend Roy Poses’ article highlighting yet another case of the industry-government revolving door, and Max Horowitz’s summary of House v. Burwell and its implications for the ACA’s cost-sharing subsidies. And… Read more about A harvest cornucopia of health wonkery

Colorado Health OP risk corridor payment shortfall

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EDIT 10/7/15: Updated information from Colorado Health OP added at the end of this post. EDIT 10/17/15: Updated with more details about the budget-neutrality of the risk corridor program.  EDIT 10/20/15: On October 19, Colorado Health OP filed a lawsuit in Denver District Court, seeking an injunction and temporary restraining order to allow them to participate in the… Read more about Colorado Health OP risk corridor payment shortfall

IRS 2016 HSA contribution limits and out-of-pocket maximums

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Open enrollment is just around the corner, and it’s time to start thinking about the health insurance plan you want in 2016. HSA-qualified high deductible health plans (HDHPs) have remained a popular choice among consumers, with enrollment climbing every year for more than a decade. And while there used to be concerns that the ACA’s… Read more about IRS 2016 HSA contribution limits and out-of-pocket maximums

Potential legislation could change how health insurance works in Colorado

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The Colorado Health Insurance Exchange Oversight Committee (a group of five Senators and five Representatives) met last week to discuss possible legislative ideas that could alter the health insurance system in Colorado.  The committee “passed” four bill ideas, which means they’ll be drafted by the Legislative Council this week and discussed in more detail at another… Read more about Potential legislation could change how health insurance works in Colorado

Health Wonks and Selfies

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Steve Anderson did a great job with the selfies edition of the Health Wonk Review, hosted at MedicareResources.org this week.  There’s plenty of great reading material in this edition, so be sure to check it out.  Some of my favorites: Wendell Potter’s article about prescription drugs, Medicare, lawmakers, and pharmaceutical lobbying is a must-read.  The… Read more about Health Wonks and Selfies

Access to healthcare in Colorado: A new day, but there’s still work to be done

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Colorado Uninsured Rate Down 53% Every other year since 2009, the Colorado Health Access survey has been conducted by interviewing at least 10,000 Colorado households on a variety of health-related metrics.  The 2015 report was released on September 1, and is aptly titled “A New Day in Colorado.”  One of the biggest headline grabbers in the latest… Read more about Access to healthcare in Colorado: A new day, but there’s still work to be done

Universal healthcare in Colorado – does one size really fit all?

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Universal healthcare coverage could be a reality in Colorado a few years from now, although it admittedly has some significant hurdles to overcome in the meantime.  Supporters need to gather 99,000 signatures in order to get the ColoradoCare initiative on the 2016 ballot.  And then voters would need to approve the measure in order to… Read more about Universal healthcare in Colorado – does one size really fit all?

A petition to make pregnancy a qualifying event in Colorado – but something doesn’t add up

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Last month, Broomfield resident Sean Jenks created a Change.org petition asking Colorado lawmakers to allow a special enrollment period for women who become pregnant.  It’s picked up considerably steam in the last 24 hours, and now has more than 13,000 supporters. Jenks points out that New York and California have taken steps to make pregnancy… Read more about A petition to make pregnancy a qualifying event in Colorado – but something doesn’t add up

Broker participation in Connect for Health Colorado

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As of the end of June, Connect for Health Colorado had 134,200 people with effectuated individual private plan enrollments for 2015.  Of those, 62,146 had help from a broker, and 9,509 had help from a health coverage guide (Colorado’s version of navigators).  According to the Connect for Health Colorado 2015 enrollment report, just 1% of… Read more about Broker participation in Connect for Health Colorado

Connect for Health Colorado board meeting – Jay’s proposals

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Earlier this month, Representative Hullinghorst, the Speaker of the Colorado House of Representatives, appointed Jay to the Connect for Health Colorado board of directors.  Jay and I have always worked as a team, and we’re honored and excited to have the opportunity to help guide the exchange going forward.  We welcome feedback from the rest… Read more about Connect for Health Colorado board meeting – Jay’s proposals