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Weekend reading from the health wonks

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In case you missed this week’s excellent Health Wonk Review, be sure to head over to Managed Care Matters for a little weekend reading.  Joe Paduda has put together a great collection of health policy articles.  Healthcare reform has been heavily partisan for the last several years (decades, really – remember the Clintons’ efforts to… Read more about Weekend reading from the health wonks

Connect for Health Colorado getting more user-friendly

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Connect for Health Colorado has been one of the most successful exchanges in the country during the first year of operation.  The exchange had enrolled nearly 146,000 people in private plans as of the end of August, and Colorado’s uninsured rate dropped by six percentage points from the end of 2013 to mid-2014. But despite… Read more about Connect for Health Colorado getting more user-friendly

Weekend reading from some great health wonks

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Have you scrolled through the latest Health Wonk Review yet?  Billy Wynne hosted this week over at Healthcare Lighthouse, and his “Thank God It’s Recess” edition is excellent. A few articles were particularly interesting to me.  At the National Center for Policy Analysis, John R. Graham wrote about how the second open enrollment is going… Read more about Weekend reading from some great health wonks

Average rates only increasing 0.71% in the Colorado individual market for 2015

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The Colorado Division of Insurance released 2015 health insurance rates this morning, and things are looking pretty good.  The average increase across all carriers in the individual market is less than one percent:  0.71% to be exact.  We’ve been in the health insurance industry since 2002, and we’ve certainly never seen an average even close… Read more about Average rates only increasing 0.71% in the Colorado individual market for 2015

Summer Reading Program – learn something new about ACA implementation and gear up for open enrollment!

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Brad Wright hosted this week’s Health Wonk Review over at Health Policy Analysis – be sure to check it out.  Two of my favorites this time around are from Health Affairs and Healthcare Lighthouse. At Health Affairs, John Kingsdale and Julie Lerche have an outstanding piece on some upheaval that could cause headaches for consumers… Read more about Summer Reading Program – learn something new about ACA implementation and gear up for open enrollment!

Fixed Indemnity Plans – buyer beware; regulations begin soon

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In early 2013, we worked with a client shortly after he had received a sales pitch for what sounded like a very sketchy health insurance product.  We followed up on the issue, talking with an agent for the carrier in question, as well as the Colorado Division of Insurance.  At that time, full ACA implementation was still… Read more about Fixed Indemnity Plans – buyer beware; regulations begin soon

Bundled payments and other risky endeavors

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Jaan Sidorov of the Disease Management Care Blog did an excellent job with the latest edition of the Cavalcade of Risk.  There’s plenty of good reading there, so don’t miss it.  I thought one of the most interesting posts was from Dr. Sidorov himself, writing about bundled payments.  He makes some really going points, explaining… Read more about Bundled payments and other risky endeavors

Lost your job? Apply for Medicaid ASAP to have a qualifying event when you get another job

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Job loss and short periods of unemployment are a relatively common part of life.  But with the new open enrollment rules in the individual health insurance market, it’s important that people understand exactly how the system works in order to avoid finding themselves stuck without health insurance.  Recently we’ve had several clients in this position,… Read more about Lost your job? Apply for Medicaid ASAP to have a qualifying event when you get another job

From the Health Wonks… are men getting the short end of the stick?

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Jennifer from Wing of Zock hosted the Health Wonk Review today, and it’s an excellent edition.  One of the most interesting entries is from Hank Stern of InsureBlog, writing about the lack of covered men’s preventive services on new ACA-compliant plans. Overall, I agree with Hank on this one.  In the pre-ACA days, women by… Read more about From the Health Wonks… are men getting the short end of the stick?

Burwell v Hobby Lobby – The Wisdom of Justice Ginsburg

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I’ve spent the last two evenings reading the text of Burwell v Hobby Lobby.  That might sound dull, but I highly recommend it – far more interesting than the text of the ACA or the thousands of pages of associated federal regulations that have been released to supplement it.  It’s 95 pages, but it’s a relatively… Read more about Burwell v Hobby Lobby – The Wisdom of Justice Ginsburg

Colorado CHP+ and exchange subsidy eligibility

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By now, I think most of our readers are aware that Colorado is one of the states that expanded Medicaid under the ACA, and that exchange subsidy eligibility begins where Medicaid eligibility ends – there is no overlap.  Households with incomes up to 133% of poverty level (actually 138%, because the law has a built-in 5%… Read more about Colorado CHP+ and exchange subsidy eligibility

Exchange website troubles and Medicaid expansion in the HWR

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Julie Ferguson hosted the Health Wonk Review this week, and it’s a great edition.  One of my favorite articles this time around is from Patrick Pine, writing at Healthcare Talent Transformation.  Patrick digs into the question of why there were so many exchange website troubles last fall – some of which are ongoing nine months later…. Read more about Exchange website troubles and Medicaid expansion in the HWR

Health Insurance Enrollment Continues to Climb, Despite Being in the “Off-Season”

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Open enrollment – including extensions – in the individual health insurance market officially ended more than two months ago, on April 15 in most states, including Colorado.  Connect for Health Colorado gave enrollees until the end of May to enroll if they were still waiting for a Medicaid denial as of the end of March,… Read more about Health Insurance Enrollment Continues to Climb, Despite Being in the “Off-Season”

The Coming Storm Over the 340B Rx Drug Discount Program

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We’ve invited Healthcare Lighthouse CEO Billy Wynne to share his posts with us. Today’s piece addresses the forthcoming regulation that will likely make sweeping changes to the 340B program. Keep an eye out for additional pieces in the coming weeks and be sure to check the Lighthouse Blog for some of our posts. Beneath the glare… Read more about The Coming Storm Over the 340B Rx Drug Discount Program

Healthcare costs, Mitch McConnell confused, and over-hyped Sovaldi

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Joe Paduda did an outstanding job with this week’s Health Wonk Review – head over and check it out, and I promise you’ll learn something new.  Some of my favorites in this edition are from Harold Pollack and David Cutler, Brad Wright, and Roy Poses. Harold and David have a really interesting conversation about healthcare costs and… Read more about Healthcare costs, Mitch McConnell confused, and over-hyped Sovaldi

Combining rating areas in Colorado to bring down mountain premiums

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Even before the ACA, individual health insurance in Colorado’s mountain towns was more expensive than in most of the rest of the state.  The ACA makes health insurance much more affordable for most people earning up to 400% of poverty level (especially in states like Colorado, where Medicaid has been expanded… we have no coverage gap).  And… Read more about Combining rating areas in Colorado to bring down mountain premiums

Reference pricing: Not as scary as it sounds

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Several times in the last few days, I’ve seen versions of an article titled something like this one – “New Obamacare loophole shows failure of for-profit health system.”  Another is titled “In health care, ‘reference pricing’ could end up costing unwary consumers thousands of dollars.”  Scary stuff, huh? Except really, it’s not.  Here’s the FAQ… Read more about Reference pricing: Not as scary as it sounds

Copper health insurance plans aren’t for everyone, but it would make sense to have them as an option

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Earlier this spring, Karen Ignagni, President and CEO of America’s Health Insurance Plans (AHIP), proposed adding another level of coverage to the currently available metal options.  Some have referred to it as a “copper” plan, and it would offer lesser benefits than bronze plans, but would also come with lower price tags.  Ignagni referenced the ACA… Read more about Copper health insurance plans aren’t for everyone, but it would make sense to have them as an option

Study analysis and data summaries from some of the best health wonks around

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Jason Shafrin, aka The Healthcare Economist, hosted the Health Wonk Review today, and it’s an excellent edition.  Some of my favorite articles in this HWR are from Harold Pollack, Tim Jost, and Joe Paduda. Writing at HealthInsurance.org, Harold takes a look at the recent Annals of Internal Medicine study that dug into the data to see how… Read more about Study analysis and data summaries from some of the best health wonks around

IRS 2015 HSA Contribution Limits and Regulations

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The IRS has released guidelines for 2015 HSA contribution limit, minimum deductible amounts, and maximum out-of-pocket amounts.  If you have an HSA or are considering opening one in 2015, here’s what you need to know: For a single individual, the 2015 HSA contribution limit will be $3,350 (a $50 increase). For a family, the 2015 HSA contribution… Read more about IRS 2015 HSA Contribution Limits and Regulations

Filed Under: HSA