The Colorado House killed a bill today that would have required Colorado health insurance companies to cover oral chemotherapy pills. Diane Primavera (D-Broomfield), sponsored Senate Bill 250 in the House, and had support from patient advocate groups and the pharmaceutical industry. But the House Health and Human Services Committee voted 7 – 4 to kill the bill. […]
Blog
Hard To Please Everyone With A Single Health Plan
[…] There really is no one-size-fits-all when it comes to health insurance. In terms of health care reform, unless someone just starts handing out free health care (without tax increases or premiums…), it will be tough to get people to agree on a single plan, or even a handful of coverage options. […]
Many Laid Off Workers Not Getting COBRA Assistance
[…] People who worked for a company that went out of business or stopped offering health insurance won’t qualify, because there won’t be a health insurance policy for them to opt to continue via COBRA. In addition, people who were laid off from small businesses might not qualify if their state doesn’t have a “mini-COBRA” law allowing these workers to continue coverage […]
Cervical Cancer And Uninsured Women
[…] With early detection through Paps responsible for the drop in deaths from cervical cancer, I’m curious as to what percentage of the 4000 women who die from cervical cancer each year are low income and/or uninsured? Most women who have health insurance typically have fairly good coverage for Paps. […]
Colorado Single Payer House Bill Abandoned
[…] it really doesn’t make sense for an individual state to set up its own single payer health insurance system. We absolutely need to focus on providing access to health care for the people of Colorado who don’t have health insurance. But it makes more sense to expand programs that are already here.
Too Important To Fail
[…] I would argue that instead of being considered too big to fail, major health insurance carriers might be seen as too important to fail. AIG’s collapse would have been primarily indirect, but health insurance companies work directly with individual Americans. Even in large groups, individual employees are the ones who carry the id cards with the insurance carrier’s logo on them. […]
Looking For Solutions
[…] I have yet to see an article that is critical of the public health insurance idea and also proposes alternative solutions. Here in Colorado, we have 800,000 people who are uninsured. Nationwide, that number is 47 million, and that was last year, before the recession hit and unemployment numbers started to climb. I have no doubt that it is higher now. […]
Cesarean Risks
Kathy’s article highlights the importance of truly informed consent, and points out the ways that women are swayed (manipulated?) towards opting for repeat c-sections in the name of safety, without being truly informed about the risks on both sides of the issue.
Yet Another Out Of Network Charge
[…] it’s all fine and good for a surgeon to have assistants, but doesn’t it seem that those assistants should be part of the same health insurance networks as the primary surgeon? After all of the effort we went through to make sure that we wouldn’t get hit with another out of network charge, this is frustrating to say the least.
Health Insurance Reform Will Only Work With Cost Controls
[…] without mechanisms for cost control, health insurance premiums aren’t going to become more affordable anytime soon. If the government steps in with subsidies, premiums will go down, but what will happen to taxes? Or other public programs that get cut? We can shift costs around, but unless we lower them across the board, we’re not going to see much relief in terms of health insurance premiums paid by individuals and employers.
Getting Rid Of Underwriting Does Not Contain Health Care Costs
[…] So while reform that involves getting rid of underwriting and requiring everyone to purchase health insurance would help some people, it won’t make much of an impact for the millions of people who can’t afford health insurance, regardless of underwriting. It might end up being a piece of the puzzle, but it’s not going to dramatically expand access to health care.
Medical Mistakes
[…] I believe that most people who become medical providers do so out of a genuine desire to help people. But then they get caught up in paperwork, health insurance regulations, overcrowding and under-staffing, malpractice litigation fears, and a whole range of other things that don’t really have anything to do with providing care. I was struck by how many articles mentioned sincerely listening to patients as advice for providers.
Free Health Care For Some Laid Off Workers
[…] It’s laudable that the clinics are offering free health care at all; they have to structure this in such a way that they don’t end up driving themselves out of business in the process. By requiring that a patient (who might think that a job/health insurance loss is on the horizon) come in for a paid visit first, the clinics will likely boost their revenue in the early phase of this program.
Doctors And Government Health Insurance
[…] Our health care system is built around patients and doctors. Whatever health insurance reforms we consider – here in Colorado, and on a federal level – we need to make sure that we don’t create a system that is so distasteful to providers that they decide they’d rather spend their time doing something else instead of medicine.
Only Two Health Insurance Options For Metro State Students
[…] But some students have done their own research and found an individual health insurance policy that better fits their needs and/or budget, and they would prefer to be given the option of keeping that policy. For those students, we feel that colleges should reconsider their waiver requirements and treat their students as adults who are capable of making their own decisions.
What Patients Need
[…] the big disease advocacy groups that are focused on finding cures do provide an important service. But Duncan’s article serves as a reminder that just donating money to a disease advocacy organization isn’t all that is needed. And there are plenty of smaller, lesser-known organizations that are working to address other, more tangible needs that sick people face. […]
Colorado HB 1224 Passes Senate
[…] I would like to see lower utilization of health care across the board. Overall, I think that the focus needs to be on reducing health care costs (which requires addressing all aspects of the health care system, from patients and doctors, to pharmaceutical companies and health insurance carriers) rather than redistributing the costs among men and women.
Colorado Is Not An Island
[…] Imagine a scenario where the rest of the country still has private health insurance combined with public programs like Medicare and Medicaid, but Colorado has universal health care. What would prevent an influx of sick people from moving to Colorado? […]
Paying For An Office Visit
[…] Some people don’t have a car or health insurance, especially in our current economy. Programs like Medicaid and Colorado’s Child Health Plan Plus are very necessary, and I support efforts to expand those programs to more low-income families. But there are people willing to pay more than $150/month for a car, but hate the idea of paying $150 to see a doctor. […]
Colorado HB 1273 And Single Payer Health Insurance
[…] House bills 1273 and 1293 both generate discussion about what we can do to provide health insurance to the 800,000 people in Colorado who are without health insurance. I’m doubtful that HB 1273 will get much traction in its current form, but perhaps it will add to the dialog that is going on at the capital, and generate ideas that will lead to solutions for Colorado.
The Conscience Clause And Access To Healthcare
[…] Instead of requiring doctors to provide services that go against their moral beliefs, why not work to make sure that every community has providers who will perform a wide range of reproductive services? If clinics like Planned Parenthood get adequate funding, doctors practicing nearby could invoke the conscience clause without depriving the community of medical services.
Doctors and Patients and Healthcare Reform
[…] Our system doesn’t reward doctors who spend time with their patients. Instead it rewards doctors who see the most patients in the least amount of time (writing a prescription for an antibiotic is a good way to move patients along). Expecting change to come from patients isn’t fair. But it’s also not fair to expect change to come from the medical profession as a whole until we make some changes to how doctors are reimbursed for the services they provide.
Preventive Colon Cancer Screeing In Colorado
[…] The changes will go into effect on July 1, 2009 and will require all Colorado health insurance providers to cover preventive colon cancer screening for policy holders over the age of 50, and screening for younger policy holders who are considered at high risk for colon cancer. The legislation pertains to both individual and group health insurance policies. […]
Medical Home Pilot Program
[…] I’m curious to see what the outcome is for the IBM/United medical home pilot program. We work with United Healthcare here in Colorado, and are eager to see if United can come up with a program that would ultimately lead to lower healthcare costs (and thus lower health insurance premiums). If the pilot is successful, I imagine we’ll see other health insurance companies implementing similar medical home programs.
Same Sex Domestic Partner Coverage From Anthem
We’re pleased to report that Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield is now offering same sex domestic partner coverage on individual health insurance policies in Colorado. Many large group plans have been offering coverage for same sex domestic partners for a while now, but this hasn’t been the case in the individual health insurance market. […]