Julie Appleby has written an article for USA Today discussing the decline of employer-sponsored health insurance in the US. As group health insurance premiums continue to rise, it’s impractical to expect employers to keep absorbing the costs. More and more employers are collecting larger premium percentages from their employees, and the number of employers who… Read more about Moving Away From Employer-Sponsored Health Insurance
What Are We Waiting For?
Paul Krugman has written an op-ed piece for the New York Times that perfectly sums up the excuses we keep hearing about why universal health care wouldn’t work in the US, and why the excuses aren’t really valid at all. He sums up the problem: The United States spends far more on health care per… Read more about What Are We Waiting For?
A Sad Story About Generic Drugs
With the advent of TV advertising for pharmaceuticals, I lost a lot of respect for the drug industry. The more I learned about how much money they spend wooing doctors and medical schools, and paying practicing physicians as consultants, the more that respect dwindled. But I think it’s hit a new low. I didn’t know that… Read more about A Sad Story About Generic Drugs
Of Course It Won’t Be Easy
According to policy experts, it might not be an easy task for other states like Colorado to duplicate the new Massachusetts law the brings nearly universal health coverage to the state. Apparently Mass. already had a “free care pool” in place that they are able to use to subsidize the new health-care-for-all program. In other… Read more about Of Course It Won’t Be Easy
Health Care Has Become Too Complicated
In 1999, 70.4% of Americans under age 65 had employer sponsored health insurance. By 2005-2006, that number had fallen to 63.2%, and the trend is likely to continue as health care costs rise, taking health insurance premiums along for the ride. Health care has become the 800 pound gorilla in the room in our current… Read more about Health Care Has Become Too Complicated
Health Insurance Choices – Emotions Versus Reason
Amy Gillentine has written an article for the Colorado Springs Business Journal that points out many of the current concerns and confusion surrounding our health care system. When it comes to open enrollment for employer-sponsored plans, she sums it up clearly: Choosing among options for health insurance is often an emotional — rather than practical… Read more about Health Insurance Choices – Emotions Versus Reason
Putting A Price Tag On Life
Self Magazine published an article in their October issue titled “How Much Is A Life Worth?” written by Roxanne Patel Shepelavy. The article is a detailed analysis of the cost of heavy duty cancer-fighting drugs, who pays, and who profits. Michelle Diekmeyer’s story is highlighted in the article, and it would make anyone cringe. She… Read more about Putting A Price Tag On Life
Protecting The Insured
A few years ago, we had a client who completed an application for individual health insurance for herself, her husband and their child with a major Colorado health insurance provider. The application asked health history questions looking back over ten years, and she thought that she completed it accurately. The family was approved, and coverage… Read more about Protecting The Insured
Obesity Ads Too Soft to be Effective
The Ad Council and the US Department of Health and Human Services are facing criticism that their ads against obesity are too soft, “namby-pamby” and wimpy to do any good. We’ve all seen the ads that show people finding lumpy-looking fat blobs here and there, and being told that they are love handles that someone… Read more about Obesity Ads Too Soft to be Effective
The Health of Colorado
The Colorado Health Foundation funded a report released yesterday that graded the health of Colorado citizens, and compared us to the rest of the nation. Overall, we’re not doing too badly – we are the thinnest state in the country, but then again, the bar isn’t set too high for that factor. And even though… Read more about The Health of Colorado
An Inappropriate Relationship
When you go to your doctor and leave with a prescription for a fancy new drug, how do you know that it’s really in your best interest? You don’t. An eye-opening new study shows that 67% of academic leaders at US medical schools and teaching hospitals have received some type of financial support from the… Read more about An Inappropriate Relationship
An Over-medicated Country
For years, the United States has had the highest health care spending per capita of any country in the world. If all our citizens were bursting with health and living to be 95 years old, one could look at the spending side and say that it’s money well spent. But in fact our health is… Read more about An Over-medicated Country
SCHIP In Colorado
Although the recent votes on SCHIP in Congress were not completely divided along partisan lines, the vetoed bill to expand SCHIP by $35 billion was supported by far more Democrats than Republicans. From Colorado, Senator Wayne Allard, and US Rep Marilyn Musgrave, both Republicans, voted against the bill. And within the state legislature, there is… Read more about SCHIP In Colorado
SCHIP – More Than A Political Debate
No big surprise – the president vetoed the SCHIP expansion bill yesterday. He’s made it very clear for weeks that he would veto the $35 billion expansion proposal from congress, and he prefers a $5 billion increase to the SCHIP budget (critics charge that $5 billion isn’t even enough to pay for the increasing health… Read more about SCHIP – More Than A Political Debate
Another Group Working To Fix Colorado Health Care
Representatives met today from several diverse groups in the Colorado health care sector, with a goal of reaching a bipartisan solution to the health care problems facing Colorado. The list of partners in the project is long and impressive, including Kaiser Permanente, the National Federation of Independent Business, the Service Employees International Union, the Colorado… Read more about Another Group Working To Fix Colorado Health Care
Taxing Our Vices
The recent debate between congress and the president over expansion of SCHIP has mostly been in regards to the total spending increase. The president wants a $5 billion increase, while congress wants to increase the SCHIP budget by $35 billion in order to further expand the federal health insurance program. And it doesn’t appear that… Read more about Taxing Our Vices
Blue Ribbon Commission Now Has Five Approved Drafts
Another draft of a proposal to reform Colorado’s health care system was approved on Monday by the Blue Ribbon Commission on Health Care Reform. That makes five proposals that have been approved for consideration so far. The Commission will recommend a final version of Colorado’s health care reform, hopefully within the next few months. The… Read more about Blue Ribbon Commission Now Has Five Approved Drafts
Lose Your Love Handles – $2 Per Pound!
It’s official – people will lose weight when money is the incentive. A new study involving 200 overweight employees at colleges in NC has shown that people lose more weight when promised a monetary reward for pounds lost. And not surprisingly, as the financial incentive goes up, more pounds are shed. At Colorado Health Insurance… Read more about Lose Your Love Handles – $2 Per Pound!
Nearly One In Three Without Health Insurance In Colorado
At Colorado Health Insurance Insider, we have written many times about the number of uninsured Coloradoans. Turns out that there are a lot more people in that group than most estimates show. The US Census Bureau estimates that there are 758,800 people in Colorado without health insurance (this is the number that we typically see… Read more about Nearly One In Three Without Health Insurance In Colorado
Clinton’s New Plan
Hillary Clinton has unveiled her plan to fix America’s ailing health care system if she becomes the next president. I was especially curious to see her ideas, since she was the person behind the Clinton administration’s efforts to overhaul the health care system in 1993. Her current proposal is much less oriented towards government-controlled health… Read more about Clinton’s New Plan
Health Care Policy Concerns
In the early 90’s, my parents opened a private psychology practice in Colorado, and obtained individual health insurance for themselves and their four children. The bill was about $200/month. Six years later, when my father decided to switch back to a salaried position, their health insurance bill was nearly $800/month, and by then only my… Read more about Health Care Policy Concerns
Health Care in a Changing America
According the the latest data released by the Kaiser Family Foundation, annual health insurance premiums for an average family on an employer-sponsored plan reached $12,106 this year. That’s a 78% increase in the last six years. In that same six years wages rose by 19%, just barely keeping ahead of inflation, which rose by 17%…. Read more about Health Care in a Changing America
Expansion of the State Children’s Health Insurance Program
New York applied to the federal government recently to expand their State Children’s Health Insurance Program to more families, and the request was denied. SCHIP was designed to provide state and federal subsidies to provide health insurance for children in low income families – an admirable project. Last month, federal guidelines were changed to “refocus… Read more about Expansion of the State Children’s Health Insurance Program
Preventive Health Care Getting Campaign Time
Of all the presidential candidates, John Edwards probably has the most personal reasons to put health care front and center in his campaigning. Elizabeth Edwards’ breast cancer battle has been in the news off and on for nearly three years. And although he has admitted that they are lucky to have the best care possible… Read more about Preventive Health Care Getting Campaign Time
SWF, 26, Uninsured, With Breast Cancer
A friend of mine was telling me a story about a lady she knows who has just found out that she has breast cancer. She’s 26 years old and has no health insurance. She earns $17,000/year and has been told that she does not qualify for Medicaid. My friend was asking me if there’s anything… Read more about SWF, 26, Uninsured, With Breast Cancer