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
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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
Health Insurance Hoops
One of our clients gave birth to a baby boy on Sunday, 9/2. She has health insurance through her employer, but her husband and daughter have an individual Colorado health insurance policy through our agency. She called me on Wednesday to see about adding the new baby to her husband’s policy, since it will cost… Read more about Health Insurance Hoops
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
United Healthcare Improves Plans, Lowers Rates
United Healthcare has just made some big changes to their individual/family health insurance plans in Colorado. Some of the best improvements are: More flexible underwriting, including a height and weight chart with expanded limits. A first-day wellness benefit. More deductible options United Healthcare was already one of our favorites for underwriting on impaired risk cases…. Read more about United Healthcare Improves Plans, Lowers Rates
No Easy Fixes for Health Insurance
It seems that about every third client we talk with here in Colorado is unhappy with the current health insurance system. If you look at the clients with pre-existing medical conditions, nearly all of them have complaints about the system. For people with employer-sponsored coverage, the complaint is that the policy costs too much or… Read more about No Easy Fixes for Health Insurance
C-Sections, Maternal Death, and Health Insurance
According to new government data, maternal death from childbirth is on the rise in the US, up to 13 deaths per 100,000 live births – 30 years ago the rate was 10 per 100,000 live births. The increase is attributed to several factors, including changes in how deaths are reported in some states, increasing maternal… Read more about C-Sections, Maternal Death, and Health Insurance
A Pretty Lady, A Puppy, and Some Daisies
I was heartened today to see this article announcing that the FDA is going to start studying whether “relaxing, upbeat images featured in TV drug ads distract consumers from warnings about the drugs’ risks.” According to the article, drug companies in the US spent $29.9 billion on advertising in 2005 – up 330% from a… Read more about A Pretty Lady, A Puppy, and Some Daisies
Enjoy the Cavalcade of Risk
InsuranceHelpHub hosts this weeks Cavalcade of Risk. It’s well worth your time to check out the collection of articles. Enjoy.
How Do We Improve Our Health Policy?
According to recent Census Bureau data, life expectancy for a baby born in the US in 2004 is 77.9 years. Of the 222 countries that the Census Bureau tracks, there are 41 with longer life expectancies, including Guam, Andorra, Macau, and Singapore. Something’s wrong here when one of the richest countries in the world, the… Read more about How Do We Improve Our Health Policy?
Medical Identity Theft
I was thumbing through some library magazines recently, and came across a facinating article in Good Housekeeping. Medical identity theft is still a very rare crime compared with all the other id theft problems, but apparently it’s growing at an alarming rate. The article is full of horror stories, including a pregnant meth addict who stole a… Read more about Medical Identity Theft
Check Out the Health Wonk Review
Julie Ferguson of the Workers’ Comp Insider plays host to the latest edition of the Health Wonk Review. As usual, the quality of articles can’t be beat and you’ll learn a lot about health policy by reading through what these top experts are talking about. Enjoy!
Our 1st Blogiversary
August 9th. One year since we started the Colorado Health Insurance Insider. We were on blogspot for about a month before we decided to host the blog on our website. Last year at this time, we knew a lot about health insurance in Colorado, since that’s our market. But being in the health care blogosphere has… Read more about Our 1st Blogiversary
Blue Ribbon Commission Corruption
Immediately after the State of Colorado contracted with Lewin Group to review the 208 commissions proposals on the future of health care in Colorado, Lewin Group was bought out by United Health Group (UHG). UHG is the largest provider of health insurance in Colorado, and is now also an “independent auditor” in charge of reforming… Read more about Blue Ribbon Commission Corruption
Compare Rx Pricing Online
Bob Vineyard of InsureBlog gives us a good reason to shop around for where you fill your prescription. He also provides several good links where you can do your shopping. Check out his post called “Drive a Little, Save a Lot.”
The Power of Health Policy Blogs
Managed Care Magazine has a well written article by Alan Adler from Independence Blue Cross about the power of blogs in the health care policy discussion.
The Real Risk of an HSA
A health savings account, or HSA, combines a high deductible health plan with a tax-favored savings account. Assuming there is transparency, as the Colorado Health Insurance Insider recently tested for, HSAs would encourage people to shop for health care just as they would for a new television or car. The HSA concept allows the free… Read more about The Real Risk of an HSA
Tax and Spend
Colorado Representative Tom Tancredo criticized the State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) bill because, “it removes a requirement that children in the plan show proof of citizenship.” Again, the Democrats have proven their loyalty to illegal aliens over American citizens, Tancredo said. Sounds logical, right? We don’t want children of illegal immigrants taking advantage of… Read more about Tax and Spend
Past Averages Do Not Predict the Future
I just read a blog post by Dani at Living Behind the Curve. She writes about her thoughts on going without health insurance in order to work part-time. Initially, she goes looking for individual health insurance, but talks herself out of it for several reasons. The policy has a $5000 deductible, and Dani calculates that… Read more about Past Averages Do Not Predict the Future
Check Out the Latest Health Wonk Review
Bob Laszewski spent some valuable vacation time in HI putting together the latest Health Wonk Review. He included a post from the Colorado Health Insurance Insider about how dealing with health care providers without the assistance of an insurance company is like dealing with the mafia. And a good one to check out is from The… Read more about Check Out the Latest Health Wonk Review
MEGA Story Left Out of SiCKO
Another family that was scammed by MEGA because of an agent leaving out important details of their policy, like “it’s actually not really going to cover anything”, almost had their story told in the movie SiCKO. However, the story was cut from the movie. When they were cut from the film, Hesper Main said that… Read more about MEGA Story Left Out of SiCKO
How Unfortunate for Me
Note: This is the fifth entry on my experience with transparency in the US health care system. See the first entry here, the second entry here, the third entry here, and the fourth entry here. I just got off of the phone with Boulder Valley Center for Dermatology. So far, they’ve agreed to give me… Read more about How Unfortunate for Me
SCHIP Too Much?
Colorado business and health leaders have banned together to get health insurance for every child in Colorado and the country. President Bush is asking Congress to authorize $5 billion over the next five years for SCHIP (State Children’s Health Insurance Program), which is designed for the children of working class parents. Congress says that amount… Read more about SCHIP Too Much?
Cavalcade of Risk at The Sentinel Effect
The Cavalcade of Risk is up over at The Sentinel Effect. Richard has done a great job organizing so many posts. Take a look around the rest of the blog while you’re there. They write some unique, thought provoking stuff.