Colorado Health Insurance Insider

No-cost broker assistance.

Blog

Sending Healthcare Overseas

By

It probably won’t suprise anyone to learn that US businesses are looking into the possibility of sending employees overseas for medical treatments that tend to be costly at home. Afterall, US businesses have been outsourcing production and customer service overseas for years. So far, only a handful of employees have been sent overseas by their… Read more about Sending Healthcare Overseas

Being Held Accountable

By

This is a follow up to our last post about how obesity has a huge impact on health care usage, and therefore contributes heavily to skyrocketing health insurance premiums.  Most Americans with health insurance get their coverage through their employers.  Group health insurance through an employer is required to cover all qualified employees, regardless of medical history. … Read more about Being Held Accountable

Why is the Cost of Health Insurance Rising So Fast?

By

When people try to explain why health insurance premiums are rising so fast, the common explanation you’ll get is that the cost of healthcare is rising.  And, yes, this does have something to do with the reason health insurance premiums are increasing.  But it’s not the reason health insurance premiums are so out of control. … Read more about Why is the Cost of Health Insurance Rising So Fast?

Ezra Klein Rules!!

By

Now I admit that healthcare topics may not be the most interesting reading on the internet – for some people.  But Ezra Klein is hosting the Health Wonk Review this week and boy, oh boy does he have a way with words!  He kept it short, to the point, and most of all… entertaining.

A Greener Earth, Fitter Employees and Lower Insurance Premiums

By

What if health insurance carriers teamed up with employers to improve employee health, lower the number of cars on the roads, and give employees a discount on their health insurance?  What would it take to get people to participate?  Here’s the idea:  Let’s say a company has 200 employees, and offers health insurance to them,… Read more about A Greener Earth, Fitter Employees and Lower Insurance Premiums

Moral Support for Those Battling Breast Cancer

By

In honor of Breast Cancer Awareness Month, we wanted to spread the word about the Y-ME hotline (1-800-221-2141).  This is a grass roots support system, founded by Ann Marcou and Mimi Kaplan in 1978.  The Y-ME website explains more about their mission and how they provide support and encouragement to those fighting the battle with breast cancer. … Read more about Moral Support for Those Battling Breast Cancer

Free and Reduced-Price Prescription Drugs

By

With more and more Americans going uninsured, and health insurance policies excluding coverage for prescription drugs, people are finding themselves footing the entire bill at the pharmacy, or worst still – going without needed medications because of the cost.  Most people don’t know that pharmaceutical companies often have programs to provide medications free or at a reduced… Read more about Free and Reduced-Price Prescription Drugs

Insurance Mergers and Network Shrinkage Hurts Consumers

By

I have a good friend who is seven months pregnant with her first child. Her employer-sponsored health insurance is with PacifiCare, which recently merged with United HealthCare. Ever since her first prenatal visit in April, she has been seeing a nurse-midwife and an OB/GYN with whom she feels very comfortable. She had planned to deliver… Read more about Insurance Mergers and Network Shrinkage Hurts Consumers

United Healthcare in a Tough Battle

By

After United Healthcare lapsed their contract with HCA, things got ugly. Dr. Craig Keyes, CEO of United’s Colorado division, was accosted and his house vandalized in July. HCA was was even attempting to get United Healthcare clients to switch to carriers contracted with HCA. Well now, Frontier Airlines, which is based in Denver, is switching… Read more about United Healthcare in a Tough Battle

A Very Grand Rounds

By

Grand Rounds version 3.2 is up over at RDoctor.  There are some really great articles in this edition, so I recommend hopping over there for some amusement.  It includes an article from the Colorado Health Insurance Insider that Louise wrote about Financial Incentives for Good Health. I really enjoyed an article about the overuse of antibiotics… Read more about A Very Grand Rounds

Colorado Businesses Pay More for Health Insurance, Especially Greeley

By

The Greeley Tribune reports that small businesses in Colorado pay more for health insurance than companies in other states, with Greeley paying Colorado’s highest health insurance costs.  The article does a good job of attempting to explain this, but misses the point. A study of more than 650,000 businesses across the U.S. that had 50… Read more about Colorado Businesses Pay More for Health Insurance, Especially Greeley

We’ve Gone Pink

By

In honor of Breast Cancer Awareness Month and a close friend that was recently diagnosed with breast cancer, Colorado Health Insurance Insider is sporting a pink monochrome throughout October to promote awareness.  Many sites across the internet, especially within the blogosphere, have redesigned their layouts in pink to promote awareness of this disease. Breast cancer is the… Read more about We’ve Gone Pink

Another Use for Your HSA

By

Inside many Colorado Target, Wal-mart, Kroger, and Walgreens stores you’ll find walk-in clinics like MedPoint Express, MinuteClinic, RediClinic, and now SmartCare Family Medical Centers.  These in-store clinics allow a fast and convenient option for those with a minor medical need, like an ear infection, and want quick treatment.  The problem with these clinics, right now, is… Read more about Another Use for Your HSA

Uninsured American Children

By

There are currently 9 million uninsured children in the US.  Census data shows that 70% of those children live in a home where at least one parent works full-time.   The same data indicates that about two thirds of these children would qualify for government-sponsored health insurance if the parents were to apply for it.  Uninsured people are… Read more about Uninsured American Children

HSA Usage

By

A Kaiser Family Foundation poll found that out of all the people with job related health insurance, only 4 percent are enrolled in an HSA qualified plan. “We don’t know yet whether workers and employers ultimately will embrace consumer-driven health plans in big numbers, but it certainly hasn’t been a tidal wave,” study co-author Gary… Read more about HSA Usage