Last week’s seven hour health care summit was basically a rehash of the ideas that were tossed around throughout the last year of health care reform debate. Neither party seems willing to negotiate much more in terms of the nitty gritty of the reform, and it’s looking like the Dems might try to use reconciliation to push through their reform bill. […]
Blog
Colorado Division Of Insurance Reconsidering Anthem Rate Increase
[…] But these numbers would seem to indicate that while Anthem’s rate increase may have been large, it seems to be in line with what other carriers are charging in Colorado. For the little test I conducted, Anthem’s premium was the second-lowest I found, and the only one with a lower premium had an additional thousand dollars in out of pocket exposure.
Competition Among Private Health Insurance Companies
[…] I will be interested to see more on the Wellpoint story as the rate increases are investigated this spring, but I imagine that it’s not a simple problem or one that has a simple solution. It’s true that Wellpoint is in business to make money. But a dramatic, highly publicized rate increase is bad for business, and it’s hard to explain it away as a company simply trying to raise profits.
Mandate Still Too Weak In Health Care Reform Compromise
[…] If people know that they won’t be penalized for pre-existing conditions and that health insurance companies will have to accept everyone, a penalty that is just a tiny fraction of the cost of coverage might be the preferred option for a lot of people. And without a large pool of healthy insureds, I just don’t see a way that premiums won’t increase significantly. I’m keeping an open mind, but I’m skeptical that we’ll be able to provide all of the proposed consumer benefits with such a lax enforcement of mandatory health insurance.
Wellpoint Premium Increases Provide Strong Case For Mandate
[…] People who buy their own health insurance must pay the whole bill, every month. When it’s time for their rate increase, there’s no employer shouldering part of the burden. The option to continue or drop coverage is there every month when it’s time to pay the premium… and if it comes to a decision between the rent or the health insurance, it’s easy to understand how a healthy person might opt to go uninsured.
Putting Costs Into Perspective
[…] even if we redistributed income and expenses completely, so that every household in American earned exactly $50,000/year and spent exactly $15,000 on health care, we’d still be struggling to pay for health care (only in that scenario, we’d ALL be struggling, rather than the way it is now, with some families crushed completely by health care expenses, and others unaware of how much their health care costs in the first place).
Reform Needed, But No Consensus On The Details
[…] We’ll have to wait and see what congress comes up with next week during their summit with the president, but there’s no way they’re going to make something out of nothing. In order to provide health insurance for everyone, we’ll either have to give up some freedoms (in the form of a mandate requiring everyone to carry coverage) or pay a little extra in taxes or premiums.
Efforts Underway To Improve Colorado Health Report Card Score
Last week I wrote about the poor results – specifically for children – on the Colorado Health Report Card. Governor Ritter has issued an explanation about the poor results, detailing how the numbers used in the report card are largely outdated (from 2007), and that many improvements have since been made in terms of the health of Colorado children. […] I’m hopeful that the next Colorado Health Report Card will show a big improvement across the board, but especially in the area of children’s health.
Poor Results On The Colorado Health Report Card
The 2009 Colorado Health Report Card was just released, and the score for healthy children slipped from a C- in 2008 to a D+ in 2009. I find it particularly interesting that our state ranks at the very top of the list in terms of the percentage of adults who are obese (we’re the only state in the nation with less than a 20% adult obesity rate) and yet our kids aren’t even close to the top of the list, with 22 states having lower childhood obesity rates. […]
More On Overutilization
David Williams has written an excellent article about the overuse of mammography screening in older women with cognitive impairment. When you read his article, especially the part about how women with a higher net worth are more likely to be screened, it’s obvious that money is playing a large role when it comes to determining who should get mammograms. […]
Mandates And Health Insurance Premiums
[…] We cannot continue to just tack on more mandates that increase health insurance benefits without addressing the inevitable premium increases that will follow. We absolutely need to address the problem of people facing staggering bills when a medical condition is not covered at all by their health insurance, but if we continue to add mandates without looking for ways to bring down costs, we’re only going to push more people into being uninsured.
Overuse Of Medical Imaging
[…] What if we implemented a system whereby doctors could not be compensated for ordering medical imaging for their patients? The imaging equipment could be strategically located throughout each city and state, but not in doctors’ offices, and not run by doctors who order the tests. If a doctor were to have no financial incentive one way or the other, we could probably assume that imaging would only be ordered when it was deemed medically necessary, and we would expect to see roughly the same rate of imaging use from one doctor to the next.
Rush Limbaugh Advises His Listeners To Go Uninsured
There are plenty of valid complaints against the current health care reform bills. Those who say that the bills don’t do enough to address the root problem of ever-increasing health care costs have a very good point. But take it with a grain of salt when a multi-millionaire with the ability to pay cash for any medical treatment he might need rails against reform that might make medical care more affordable for average people and talks […]
Maternity As An Option Rather Than A Mandate
[…] It would be nice to see more options available for our clients who are looking for maternity coverage. My preference would be if clients could select their health insurance policy based on all of the other features of the plan, and then add maternity benefits after they had settled on a policy, rather than choosing a policy by default simply because it is one of a very few options that offer maternity benefits.
A Good Alternative To Mandatory Health Insurance
[…] there wouldn’t be an incentive for people to remain uninsured and wait until they got sick to purchase health insurance. The choice to be uninsured would come with consequences, but it would still be a legal choice. This would allow people to make their own decisions, but would also protect health insurance companies and people who maintain continuous coverage.
Health Care Reform Does Not Mean Government Run Health Care
[…] Yes, we would all have to purchase health insurance under the proposed reform bills. But if we want guaranteed issue universal coverage, and we don’t want the government running the health care system, there isn’t really a way around the requirement that everyone obtain coverage. And yes, we’ll need some additional tax revenues in order to help subsidize health insurance coverage for families who would otherwise be unable to afford it. But I can’t see how these things translate into the federal government running the health care system.
Americans More Concerned About The Economy Than Health Care
[…] A good deal of President Obama’s state of the union address last night was focused on his plans for economic recovery, and this makes sense. But bringing health care costs into line with what the rest of the world spends should still be a priority, and I hope that we continue to look for solutions that will eventually result in affordable, accessible health care for all Americans.
Definition Of Candy In HB 1191 Is Too Narrow
[…] At first glance, I’m in favor of HB 1191. I believe that our health care costs will not truly be contained until our overall health improves, and I believe we need to focus on much better eating patterns in order to make that happen. Taxes levied on foods like soft drinks is a good place to start. But Enstrom’s complaints made me look a little more closely. […]
Updating Communication Between Providers And Insurers
[…] What if our health insurance ID cards came with barcodes that could be scanned in the doctor’s office or hospital, immediately allowing the office staff to see our benefits, how much of our deductible still needs to be met, and any exclusions on our policy? Then admission and treatment data could be transmitted directly to the health insurance carrier, without the need for phone calls or extra staff. […]
Cadillac Tax Could Impact Non Cadillac Plans Too
[…] But setting a flat dollar amount above which a plan will be taxed seems ill-advised. It doesn’t really do a good job of weeding out health insurance plans that truly have too many bells and whistles, and it wrongly penalizes people who live in areas where health care costs are higher than average, or companies with a disproportionate number of older workers.
A Misguided Initiative
[…] The decision to not carry health insurance (despite being able to afford it) is one that has ramifications for more than just the person who opts to be uninsured. In addition, there is no way to keep health insurance premiums affordable unless a large number of healthy people are paying premiums to offset the cost of care for those who are not as healthy.
A Database To Compare Health Care Costs At Colorado Hospitals
[…] It’s hard to have an effective dialog about costs and cost-control when the average person has no idea what the costs actually are, and no realistic way of finding out. EOBs are great, but they only come after a person has received treatment, and thus aren’t particularly useful in terms of comparison shopping. Kefalas’ bill would be a good step towards transparency in health care costs, and I hope it is well received.
Health Insurance Might Be Less Expensive Than You Think
Gary VanderArk and Gretchen Hammer, president and executive director of the Colorado Coalition for the Medically Underserved, have written an opinion piece for the Denver Post about how health care reform will benefit the people of Colorado. I agree with their analysis – there will be a lot positive changes once health care reform takes effect, especially for low-income Coloradans and those who are currently uninsured […]
Colorado Legislative Sessions Opens With Health Insurance Reform Bills
The 2010 legislative session in Colorado got underway this week, and included the introduction of a few bills aimed at health insurance reform on a state level. HB 1008 would make it illegal for gender to be used in the determination of health insurance premiums, HB 1021 would require reproductive services to be covered by health insurance, and HB 1004 would implement standardized explanation of benefit (EOB) forms for insureds. […]
Transparency Lacking In Final Health Care Negotiations
Both of the Senators from Colorado are calling for more transparency in the way congressional leaders are working to hash out a health care reform plan that combines the versions passed last year by the House and Senate. Senators Udall and Bennet, both Democrats, are unimpressed with their own party’s actions in keeping the final negotiations secret. […]