InsureBlog made some good points last fall about the bill, and why it’s not really all that helpful. In terms of the small group market, I would agree, since small group plans are guaranteed issue, and in Colorado, the state has restricted insurers from increasing premiums for small groups based on medical history – regardless of how the medical information was obtained […]
Group Health
Smoking Can Be Hazardous To Your Career
Whirlpool has suspended 39 employees for lying about tobacco use, and the employees could face termination once their cases are investigated by the company. At the Colorado Health Insurance Insider, we’ve written about wellness programs that are becoming more common among large employers, and about our disappointment that the DOL is starting to consider wellness… Read more about Smoking Can Be Hazardous To Your Career
Capping Health Insurance Premiums
David Williams at the Health Business Blog has written a post about Clinton’s plan to cap health insurance premiums at 5% – 10% of a family’s income. With a US median income of nearly $50,000/year, health insurance premiums would be somewhere in the range of $2500 – $5000/year, which as Mr. Williams points out, doesn’t… Read more about Capping Health Insurance Premiums
Grand Rounds and the Cav are Hot Off the Press
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
Without A Paddle
As health insurance brokers, we talk with people every day who have various pre-existing medical conditions. We go over options with them, although it’s usually a case of picking the lesser of two evils. I just read Kyla’s story about her family’s struggle to get health insurance for their little girl. She wrote more details… Read more about Without A Paddle
Restrictions On Wellness Programs A Bad Idea
The Labor Department has laid out new regulations that would mostly prevent employers from requiring that employees with self-inflicted health problems pay more for health insurance or carry higher deductibles than their healthier coworkers. HIPAA standards require that in group health plans, everyone pays the same premiums without regard for health status. But supplemental coverage… Read more about Restrictions On Wellness Programs A Bad Idea
Managed Care Matters Has Your Cavalcade of Risk
Joe Paduda hosts the pre-holiday edition of the Cav and he’s done a great job explaining each article so you can just breeze through it and read what sounds interesting. My favorite post was from Jonathan Pletzke who has just written a book called “Buying Health Insurance Without Getting Ripped Off“. So he started a… Read more about Managed Care Matters Has Your Cavalcade of Risk
Moving Away From Employer-Sponsored Health Insurance
Julie Appleby has written an article for USA Today discussing the decline of employer-sponsored health insurance in the US. As group health insurance premiums continue to rise, it’s impractical to expect employers to keep absorbing the costs. More and more employers are collecting larger premium percentages from their employees, and the number of employers who… Read more about Moving Away From Employer-Sponsored Health Insurance
Lose Your Love Handles – $2 Per Pound!
It’s official – people will lose weight when money is the incentive. A new study involving 200 overweight employees at colleges in NC has shown that people lose more weight when promised a monetary reward for pounds lost. And not surprisingly, as the financial incentive goes up, more pounds are shed. At Colorado Health Insurance… Read more about Lose Your Love Handles – $2 Per Pound!
Health Care in a Changing America
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
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
Anthem Blue Cross Leads The Way
Over the past couple years, I’ve made a push to eliminate bigotry from the Colorado health insurance market. My main focus has been to persuade Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield of Colorado into making those positive changes first. They’ve got the biggest market share of the Colorado individual and small group health insurance markets, so… Read more about Anthem Blue Cross Leads The Way
Paying for a Pregnancy
Lately I’ve been pondering the expenses involved with having a baby. Jay and I have been married four years, and we’ve started discussing the idea. Obviously, there are enormous costs that continue to accrue over the years – everything from cribs to college, most of which can be lowered through frugal living. But what about… Read more about Paying for a Pregnancy
What if…
What if businesses weren’t allowed to deduct the cost of employee health insurance benefits? And what if businesses were required to show the employees how much they pay for their benefits and offer the choice for the employee to either keep receiving the group insurance benefit or to get that same amount as a raise?… Read more about What if…
Employer Group HSA Comparibility
Colorado employers that want to make HSA contributions to employees on a pre-tax basis are required to make those contributions on a “comparable” basis. This rule is designed to prevent employers from favoring one group of employees over another. Of course, it gets somewhat complicated. For one thing, the rules allow employers to treat the… Read more about Employer Group HSA Comparibility
Colorado House Bill 1355 Passes Senate
Colorado House Bill 1355 (in reference to small groups between 2 and 50 employees) was passed by the senate today including an amendment that would have the change slowly brought in over the course of two years. So it will go back to the House for consideration of this (and other) amendments. HB1355 is a… Read more about Colorado House Bill 1355 Passes Senate
Cutting Group Health Insurance Costs
A new study has found that obese employees have more workers’ comp claims than their fit counterparts. This should come as a surprise to no one, as obese people have higher medical costs in most aspects of life, not just during the work day. New York employment attorney Richard Corenthal cautioned employers not to overreact… Read more about Cutting Group Health Insurance Costs
Colorado Small Group Health Insurance Changes
Yesterday in Colorado, a senate committee approved a bill that would prohibit health insurance companies from using health status and claims history to set premiums for small groups (fewer than 50 employees). Since 2003, small groups in Colorado could have a discount of up to 25% or an increase of up to 10% on their… Read more about Colorado Small Group Health Insurance Changes
Improving Colorado’s Health Insurance Market
The health insurance system works best when as many people as possible (preferrably all people) are covered. In a free market system, legislating the insurers is a delicate balancing act. On the one hand, we need to keep them from trying to only insure healthy people and excluding those with health conditions. But on the… Read more about Improving Colorado’s Health Insurance Market
Funny Logic
In Colorado, there is underwritten health insurance and there is guaranteed issue health insurance. Underwritten health insurance has a much lower cost structure because they aren’t covering pre-existing conditions at all or without covering the cost with a premium increase, so it costs much less if you can qualify for it. Employers that are paying… Read more about Funny Logic
Colorado Group Health Insurance Law Proposed
Rep. Anne McGihon, D-Denver, is proposing that Colorado roll back a law created in 2003 that allows insurers to take the relative health of a group into account when setting health insurance rates. The Denver Business Journal briefly states that the new law “could increase the costs of buying health insurance.” Hmmmm, but they don’t… Read more about Colorado Group Health Insurance Law Proposed
Only in America
Nathan Wilkes’ story is heartbreaking. His son, Thomas, is an adorable three-year-old who was born with severe hemophilia, and a year later developed a resistance to treatment. The Wilkes family is now in a situation that should scare the hell out of anyone who’s covered by private health insurance. Basically, Thomas needs treatments that can… Read more about Only in America
Gunnison County Extends Health Insurance to Live-In Partners
Reposted from: http://www.gjsentinel.com/news/content/news/stories/2007/01/21/1_21_Same_sex_benefits.html Gunnison may be one of the only counties in this part of Colorado that’s decided to let domestic partners of county employees, including same-sex partners, share in health insurance benefits.Debbie Moore, personnel director for Gunnison County, said the measure has been considered for a couple of years after being requested by a… Read more about Gunnison County Extends Health Insurance to Live-In Partners
Specialty Drugs Boost Health Insurance Premiums in Colorado
Health insurance premiums in Colorado and the rest of the country are expected to increase by at least 10% in 2007, driven mainly by the cost of expensive specialty drugs. An article I just read from the Associated Press (published by the Insurance Journal) said that specialty drugs accounted for 19 %, or about $40 billion worth of pharmaceutical… Read more about Specialty Drugs Boost Health Insurance Premiums in Colorado
Eagle County Colorado Offering Same Sex Partner Benefits
Eagle County, in the Colorado mountains, will begin offering health insurance benefits to their employees’ same sex partners, provided the couple meets the same “common law” guidelines required for heterosexual couples to obtain benefits. Same sex partner benefits are becoming more common among private companies, but Eagle County is the first public (ie, tax-payer funded)… Read more about Eagle County Colorado Offering Same Sex Partner Benefits