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SB2 passes Senate – but it’s still a waste of time

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Last week, the Colorado Senate passed SB2, with a vote of 18 to 17. All of the Democrats in the Senate opposed the bill, and it’s doubtful that it will pass in the Democrat-controlled House (it’s currently with the State, Veterans, and Military Affairs Committee in the House). I wrote about SB2 in February, when… Read more about SB2 passes Senate – but it’s still a waste of time

Health News at the Population Health Blog

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Jaan Sidorov did an excellent job with the Health Wonk Review this week. Surprisingly enough, none of the entries in this week’s edition have anything to do with the presidential campaign or the candidates’ views on healthcare reform, so Dr. Sidorov dubbed it the “presidential politics-free” edition. There’s lot of good stuff in this round… Read more about Health News at the Population Health Blog

Standardized plans don’t signal the death of HSAs

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Is the HSA (health savings account) an endangered species? Yes, if you believe this National Review article. But at InsureBlog, Hank Stern explains why a lot of the National Review’s points are essentially conjecture. I agree with Hank on this one, and there’s more to the story if you read the details in the 2017 Benefit… Read more about Standardized plans don’t signal the death of HSAs

Last week’s HWR, and an upcoming “blab” chat

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I’m a bit behind the times here, but Charles Gaba hosted the Health Wonk Review at ACAsignups last week, and there’s plenty of good health wonkery over there for your reading pleasure. In addition, the Health Wonk Review is teaming up with David Harlow – of HealthBlawg fame – to begin hosting a “blab.” This… Read more about Last week’s HWR, and an upcoming “blab” chat

We should eliminate balance billing at in-network hospitals

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Earlier this month, lawmakers in Florida passed House Bill 221 in an effort to prevent surprise balance billing when patients are treated by out-of-network providers at in-network facilities. Governor Scott hasn’t yet signed HB221 into law, but details about how the law would work are outlined here. HB221 is being called a model for other states… Read more about We should eliminate balance billing at in-network hospitals

Commission cuts aren’t the same in states with state-run exchanges

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EDIT, March 29, 2016: In addition to having state-run exchanges, there’s another factor involved here, which is much more likely to be the correct explanation. California, Colorado, Connecticut, and Kentucky are the four states that have taken regulatory action to prevent health insurance carriers from cutting commissions. Although my initial hypothesis wasn’t bad, direct action… Read more about Commission cuts aren’t the same in states with state-run exchanges

Healthcare Reform: The Path Forward

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Welcome to the Health Wonk Review! It’s been nearly six years since the ACA was signed into law. And although most aspects of the law have now been implemented, the debate over its merits have not let up. In this election year, healthcare reform continues to be a hot topic, even dividing Democrats in terms… Read more about Healthcare Reform: The Path Forward

Money Changes Everything (and the Broncos won!) Edition of the HWR

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At medicareresources.org, Steve Anderson did an outstanding job with this week’s Money Changes Everything edition of the Health Wonk Review (although I think we can all agree that it’s actually the “Broncos Won the Super Bowl!!” edition?). There are a ton of great reads from some great health wonks. Here are some of my favorites:… Read more about Money Changes Everything (and the Broncos won!) Edition of the HWR

Should we eliminate the penalty exemption for a short gap in coverage?

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Over the last several weeks, much has been said about the need to tighten up enforcement of the ACA’s special enrollment period eligibility. And CMS has said they will conduct audits this year to ensure that people enrolling through Healthcare.gov for the remainder of this year have a valid qualifying event. There is concern that people… Read more about Should we eliminate the penalty exemption for a short gap in coverage?

Senate Bill 2 and Connect for Health Colorado’s Administrative Fee

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Last month, Colorado Senator Kevin Lundberg (R, Berthoud) introduced Senate Bill 2. In a nutshell, the bill calls out Connect for Health Colorado’s administrative fee as a violation of TABOR, since the fee is technically paid by people who aren’t enrolled through the exchange, could be considered a tax, and wasn’t voted upon by Colorado residents. Connect… Read more about Senate Bill 2 and Connect for Health Colorado’s Administrative Fee

The HWR is ten!

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Happy tenth birthday to the Health Wonk Review! We started writing about healthcare reform and related issues here on Colorado Health Insurance Insider in the summer of 2006, and quickly discovered the Health Wonk Review – which was in its infancy at that point. For nearly a decade, it’s been an excellent source of new ideas… Read more about The HWR is ten!

If you’re facing the subsidy cliff, enroll through Connect for Health Colorado

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The Canon City Daily Record published a story this week highlighting how expensive health insurance is in the Colorado mountains, and how few carriers offer coverage in the mountains. Despite the fact that the Division of Insurance combined some rating areas to alleviate the problem ahead of the 2015 open enrollment period, rates for 2016… Read more about If you’re facing the subsidy cliff, enroll through Connect for Health Colorado

Would ColoradoCare be an adverse selection magnet for people moving to Colorado?

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Colorado will certainly be a state to watch in 2016. Not only is Colorado up for grabs in the presidential election, it’s also the only state in the country – so far – where voters will be asked to decide whether the state should switch to a single payer healthcare system, dubbed ColoradoCare. I explained… Read more about Would ColoradoCare be an adverse selection magnet for people moving to Colorado?

Connect for Health Colorado and non-resident brokers

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At today’s Connect for Health Colorado board meeting, there was some discussion over the issue of whether or not Colorado’s exchange should work with out-of-state web brokers. Here’s the background on the issue, and I want to clarify my position in case there was any confusion. I’ve been a local broker in Colorado for 14… Read more about Connect for Health Colorado and non-resident brokers

Holiday Health – Oh what fun it is!

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Julie Ferguson hosted the Holiday Edition of the Health Wonk Review today at Workers’ Comp Insider – don’t miss it! The HWR leads off with a piece in Health Affairs written by several notable ACA opponents. It outlines their alternate vision for reforming healthcare, and is sure to resonate with other ACA opponents. Some aspects… Read more about Holiday Health – Oh what fun it is!

Should open enrollment end by December 31 to prevent adverse selection?

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A year ago, I wrote a post in which I expressed the opinion that open enrollment should continue into January every year. At that point, the proposed guidelines from HHS had called for the 2016 open enrollment period to end on December 15, 2015 (ie, next week), and I noted that this would mean people… Read more about Should open enrollment end by December 31 to prevent adverse selection?

Standardized plan designs, proposed 2017 max oop, open enrollment, and more

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On Friday, HHS published their proposed benefit and payment parameters for 2017. It’s a good read, if you’re into HHS regulations. They’ll accept comments on the proposals through December 21, and final regulations will likely be published in February or March 2016. open enrollment schedule for 2017 HHS has proposed that open enrollment for 2017… Read more about Standardized plan designs, proposed 2017 max oop, open enrollment, and more

Thanksgiving Health

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Brad Wright hosted the Counting Our Blessings edition of the Health Wonk Review today, and it’s a cornucopia of excellent articles. One of my favorites in this edition comes from Wendell Potter, explaining why Obamacare is not collapsing. And an article from Health Affairs about rising death rates among white women under age 55 is a… Read more about Thanksgiving Health

Lesson from CO-OP failures: low premiums aren’t sustainable unless we reduce healthcare costs

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Healthcare accounts for 17.4% of the US GDP. And yet most of us can’t or won’t include a healthcare line-item in our budget that accounts for 17.4% of our annual spending. Whenever health insurance carriers raise their rates – particularly if it’s a significant increase – there tends to be a public outcry, with the carriers… Read more about Lesson from CO-OP failures: low premiums aren’t sustainable unless we reduce healthcare costs

Why is Colorado Health OP shutting down?

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UPDATE, 10/20/15: On October 19, Colorado Health OP filed a lawsuit in Denver District Court, seeking an injunction and temporary restraining order to allow the carrier to continue to sell policies – and participate in the 2016 open enrollment period – while working for the next few weeks to secure funding from one of the… Read more about Why is Colorado Health OP shutting down?

A harvest cornucopia of health wonkery

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Joe Paduda did an excellent job with this week’s Health Wonk Review. If you’re looking for some good weekend reading material, look no further. I highly recommend Roy Poses’ article highlighting yet another case of the industry-government revolving door, and Max Horowitz’s summary of House v. Burwell and its implications for the ACA’s cost-sharing subsidies. And… Read more about A harvest cornucopia of health wonkery