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Taking a Closer Look at Colorado HB 1389

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Colorado House Bill 1389, dubbed the Fair & Accountable Insurance Act, was approved by the House Business Affairs & Labor Committee. It now goes to the House Appropriations Committee. This bill, introduced by Rep. Morgan Carroll (D-Aurora) and Sen. Paula Sandoval (D-Denver), addresses a very complicated issue and we at the Colorado Health Insurance Insider… Read more about Taking a Closer Look at Colorado HB 1389

More Care Does Not Mean Better Care

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None of the hospitals in the Dartmouth study are in Colorado, but I’m curious now to see how the major Colorado hospitals pay their doctors. Given a choice, I would be more inclined to use a hospital that pays physicians a salary, rather than using a per-procedure compensation structure.

Health Beat Has the Health Wonk Review

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In addition to Louise’s article on the new fourth tier here on the Colorado Health Insurance Insider, Maggie also had a recent post where she asks “Who Sets the Price at $100,000” and, does anyone happen to know, “Are These Drugs Effective?”

A Bad Trend in Rx Coverage

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We have health insurance to guard against financial devastation in the face of serious health problems. But when we separate out the prescription coverage from the rest of the policy, we’re leaving seriously ill patients to fall between the cracks.

Recycling Drugs To Fill Prescriptions for The Uninsured

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I’ve seen several articles recently about prescription drug donation/recycling programs, which I think is a great idea. True, it may be like trying to move a mountain with a spoon, but doesn’t that beat not trying at all? The articles I found didn’t mention anything about Rx donation and recycling programs here in Colorado, and… Read more about Recycling Drugs To Fill Prescriptions for The Uninsured

Health Care For All Pregnant Women

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I just came across a great article from Midwife With A Knife (The RHI Health Blog of the Week on Regulating Health Insurance). It’s about the frustration felt by a doctor dealing with non-compliant patients – in this case, pregnant diabetics who don’t manage their blood sugar and insulin during pregnancy, and end up with… Read more about Health Care For All Pregnant Women

A Big Grand Rounds

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If you like medical and health blogs, Dr. Wes has three dozen articles in the latest edition of Grand Rounds. All of them are very interesting, including the one about how much orthopedic surgeons love their work and the fun of eavesdropping on others in the waiting room… what HIPAA? The last article from the… Read more about A Big Grand Rounds

Why Is There A Balance To Bill In The First Place?

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In CA, regulators are working to impose a ban on “balance billing” – the practice of billing patients for amounts over what their health insurance companies will pay for a given procedure. While most health insurance networks prohibit balance billing, there are only eight states that regulate the practice, and a good number of patients… Read more about Why Is There A Balance To Bill In The First Place?

Colorado Lawmakers Addressing Health Insurance Premium Increases

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Colorado lawmakers have proposed legislation that would tighten restrictions on health insurance carriers regarding premium increases and the timeliness of claims payment. The bill to limit premium increases was sponsored by state representative Morgan Carroll (D), who cited a 60% increase in health insurance premiums in Colorado between 2001 and 2005. During the same time,… Read more about Colorado Lawmakers Addressing Health Insurance Premium Increases

Capping Health Insurance Premiums

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David Williams at the Health Business Blog has written a post about Clinton’s plan to cap health insurance premiums at 5% – 10% of a family’s income. With a US median income of nearly $50,000/year, health insurance premiums would be somewhere in the range of $2500 – $5000/year, which as Mr. Williams points out, doesn’t… Read more about Capping Health Insurance Premiums

Just About Everyone Agrees That Something Needs To Be Done

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How often do you see a poll where 95% of the respondents agree on an issue? That’s the percentage of the more than 26,000 people recruited to take an online survey about health care in America, who believe that our health care system needs fundamental and major changes. Most of the respondents have jobs, a… Read more about Just About Everyone Agrees That Something Needs To Be Done

Is Mandatory Health Insurance Unconstitutional?

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I just came across an excellent article by Karl Manheim and Jamie Court. It presents some compelling explanations of how the idea of making private health insurance mandatory for American citizens may not be constitutional. At the Colorado Health Insurance Insider, I’ve come out in support of mandatory health insurance, and also very much in… Read more about Is Mandatory Health Insurance Unconstitutional?

If The Cancer Doesn’t Kill You, The Price Tag Might

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What do you do when you’re 71 years old, battling blood cancer, and find out that your cost for the medication that is treating your cancer has gone from $60/month to $1051/month? Helen Geiger had to stop taking the cancer medication Thalomid for several months last year while her family and doctors appealed the insurance… Read more about If The Cancer Doesn’t Kill You, The Price Tag Might

Health Wonk Review is Posted

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It’s a little late, but I finally noticed the latest Health Wonk Review over at Managed Care Matters (posted on Thursday).  Joe Paduda is the founder of the HWR and has put together a collection of blog posts that anyone interested in health policy will find interesting.