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Lower Share Prices For Humana And Wellpoint

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Humana and Wellpoint – both major players in the Colorado health insurance market – lowered their 2008 earnings projections on Wall Street this week. In both cases, higher-than-expected claims volume is partially to blame. Humana’s earnings drop is mainly tied to claims with their Medicare prescription drug program, which the company says will reset after… Read more about Lower Share Prices For Humana And Wellpoint

No Out Of State Health Insurance For Colorado Residents

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The Colorado House of Representatives rejected a proposal yesterday that would have made it possible for Colorado residents to buy health insurance from out-of-state carriers not licensed in Colorado. The vote was close, but failed 6-5 in the committee meeting. I think that the state-by-state system of health insurance in this country is ridiculous, considering… Read more about No Out Of State Health Insurance For Colorado Residents

Mental Health Coverage on Health Insurance Policies

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The House voted last week to require health insurance companies to provide equal coverage for mental and physical health on policies that cover both types of illness. This is heralded as a big step forward by mental health advocates, but it will also place a strain on health insurance carriers, policy-holders who pay their own… Read more about Mental Health Coverage on Health Insurance Policies

Newspapers Support "Free Market" Health Care Reform

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I just came across an interesting article by Michelle Swenson at the Health Blog. The gist of the article is that the two major Colorado newspapers – the Rocky Mountain News and the Denver Post – consistently presented a skewed view of the health care reform proposals that were evaluated over the last year by… Read more about Newspapers Support "Free Market" Health Care Reform

ChronicBabe Has Grand Rounds

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You’ll see a brand new Grand Rounds hosted by Jenni Prokopy, founder and editrix of chronicbabe.com – a site for young women with chronic illness who strive to live well in spite of health-related limitations…to be babes!

More Transparency For Network Negotiated Prices

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When Jay had an MRI on his knee last month, we were charged $1200. The EOB tells us that the Vail Valley Medical Center in Vail, Colorado, charges $1600 for the procedure. Our Humana health insurance has a negotiated rate of $1200, which is what we paid (we hadn’t met the deductible yet, so we… Read more about More Transparency For Network Negotiated Prices

They Should Have Just Paid For The Chemo

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HealthNet in CA has been ordered to pay $9 million to an insured who had her policy canceled midway through treatment for breast cancer. The bulk of the award – $8.4 million – was punitive damages, which should leave health insurance companies all over the country feeling a little nervous. Patsy Bates got her HealthNet… Read more about They Should Have Just Paid For The Chemo

Grand Rounds and the Cav are Hot Off the Press

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The latest issue of Grand Rounds is up at Science Roll.  A post I found interesting was from Bob Coffield at the Health Care Law Blog about the pilot project between Google and the Cleveland Clinic. Also, check out the latest Cavalcade of Risk put up by the wise wench.  That is where I noticed… Read more about Grand Rounds and the Cav are Hot Off the Press

Ever Seen GoozNews?

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GoozNews has the latest edition of the Health Wonk Review. There are lots of very interesting articles. And if you’ve never been to this blog before, browse around a bit and maybe even subscribe for a while. He writes some very good stuff. In one of the interesting (and timely) articles, Joe Paduda shows us… Read more about Ever Seen GoozNews?

If You Break It, You Buy It

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I read somewhere recently that compliance with hand washing standards in American hospitals is less than 50%. That alone is enough to make me thankful that Jay and I have chosen a home birth for our baby this spring, but it also raises lots of questions about medical care in general. If something as simple… Read more about If You Break It, You Buy It

Medicaid Recipients More Likely To Be Diagnosed With Advanced Cancer

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The American Cancer Society has released data indicating that uninsured Americans are 2.1 times as likely as those with private health insurance to have cancer initially diagnosed at an advanced stage. This shouldn’t come as much of a surprise, since people without health insurance tend to put off going to the doctor out of concern… Read more about Medicaid Recipients More Likely To Be Diagnosed With Advanced Cancer

Higher Medicare Drug Premiums For Wealthy Seniors

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President Bush wants to charge wealthy American seniors more for their prescription drug coverage.  In a plan that will be presented to congress for approval, the administration is proposing a premium increase for Medicare beneficiaries who earn more than $82,000/year as a single person or $164,000 for a married couple.  The amount of the premium… Read more about Higher Medicare Drug Premiums For Wealthy Seniors

Health Insurance Covering Infertility Treatment

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I wrote an article yesterday about how hard it is to get individual health insurance after you’ve had fertility treatments. We got a comment on the post that mentioned how ironic the whole thing is, considering health insurance almost never pays for the actual fertility treatment, even if you have coverage while you’re going through… Read more about Health Insurance Covering Infertility Treatment

Valentine’s Day Cav

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I’ve Paid For This Twice Already hosts the latest Cavalcade – Is Love a Risk?  Check out a very interesting article by Regulating Health Insurance – Should We Be Focusing on the Individual Health Insurance Market?

Health Insurance After Infertility Treatment

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I just read a post by ForHealth about infertility treatment and individual health insurance. Her experience is one we’ve seen with some clients over the years. She went through fertility treatment – Clomid, in this case – which was unsuccessful. Three years later, she applied for an individual health insurance policy and was declined. The… Read more about Health Insurance After Infertility Treatment

Maybe The Big Picture Should Be About More Than Money

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So it turns out that losing weight won’t save health care dollars. But it will make you live longer. A Dutch study has concluded that lifetime health care costs are actually higher for normal-weight, non smokers than for their peers who are obese or who use tobacco. But what about health care dollars per year… Read more about Maybe The Big Picture Should Be About More Than Money

Colorado Blue Ribbon Commission Report Finalized

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The Colorado Blue Ribbon Commission for Health Care Reform made its final report to the Colorado General Assembly last week. The 176 page document was endorsed by 24 of the 27 diverse commissioners, and includes provisions that the Commission says will reduce the number of Coloradans without health insurance (currently 792,000 people) by 88%. The… Read more about Colorado Blue Ribbon Commission Report Finalized

Where Does The Rest Of The Government Stand?

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Health care has become quite the buzzword in this election year, and will likely stay near the top of the political radar for the foreseeable future. Managed Care Matters has a very informative piece that breaks down the similarities and differences in the health care reform proposals of Senators Obama and Clinton. And The Health… Read more about Where Does The Rest Of The Government Stand?

Automatic Payroll Deduction For Health Insurance Premiums

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I’ll preface this post by saying that Hillary Clinton is not my choice for America’s next president. But that doesn’t mean I don’t like some of her ideas. I just read an article that described her plans for enforcement of her proposal to make health insurance mandatory for all Americans. Garnishing wages of workers who… Read more about Automatic Payroll Deduction For Health Insurance Premiums