Canada’s health care system has become a major talking point for both sides of the American health care reform debate. Proponents of public health insurance point to Canada as a shining example of a country where every citizen has access to health care. But people who want less government involvement in our health care system note that Canadians often face long waits for care. […]
Health Insurance Reform
Cooperatives And The Colorado Health Insurance Market
[…] One of the criticisms of the private health insurance industry is that there isn’t much real competition. Proponents of the co-op idea believe that co-ops would increase competition and thus drive down costs. I’m sure that this is the case in some markets, but here in Colorado we have a pretty robust health insurance market, with lots of companies competing with each other. […]
Public And Private Enterprises Can Coexist
[…] There is all sorts of competition and cooperation that already exists between the private and public sector. One way or another, I’m hopeful that we’ll end up with some sort of compromise that results in expanded access to health insurance and health care for more people.
Advance Directives Not The Biggest Issue
[…] It’s unfortunate that this has become such a point of contention in the health care reform debate. Although I do think that it could have been an important benefit for some peope, I also think it has taken the focus off of some of the much more important aspects of health care reform. And that is the unfortunate part.
Prevention Versus Early Detection
Much has been said about the merits of preventive medicine. It’s been a major talking point for politicians on both sides of the aisle throughout the health care reform debate. Whatever reform measures end up being enacted, there is likely to be an enhanced focus on screening tests. […] But does preventive medicine really help? […]
Not Just Health Insurance That Needs Reform
Has anyone else noticed that the the term “health insurance reform” has started to be used in place of the term “health care reform”? Perhaps reform proponents are counting on the poor perception of the health insurance industry held by many Americans. By renaming the reform, perhaps they believe that more people will support it. […]
Tax Breaks And Health Insurance Premiums
There is no reason why employees who get health insurance through their employer should get a tax break, while those who purchase individual health insurance don’t. Not only does the employer gets to deduct the premiums as a business expense, but the employees are not taxed on the value of the health insurance either. […]
Taxes To Pay For Health Care Reform
[…] And “Cadillac health insurance plans” are becoming somewhat rare. Employers are constantly trying to lower company health care costs, which means that HSA qualified plans (nothing Cadillac about those) and other options with fewer bells and whistles are becoming the norm. In the individual health insurance market, the change has been profound too. […]
Responsibility For Patient Health
[…] Would an outcome-based payment system mean that doctors who treat chronically ill patients wouldn’t be reimbursed as well as doctors who treat people who can fully recover from whatever illness they have? Would doctors be less likely to take on chronically ill patients? Yes, we should take responsibility for our own health. But what if we get sick anyway?
Eighty Eight Thousand Is A Lot Of Money
[…] Colorado is by no means a poor state . But our median household income is more than $30,000 below the cutoff point for the proposed health insurance premium subsidies. That means that a good chunk of the population here – and across the country – would qualify for subsidies under this proposal. It might make people feel good at first, but where is the money coming from? […]
The 82nd Cavalcade Of Risk
[…] Jaan homes in on the notion Bob puts forth that health insurance carriers are responsible for spiraling healthcare costs, and should thus be accountable for keeping those costs in check. I agree with Jaan here – health insurance companies are already highly regulated entities, and don’t have as much say when it comes to costs as the public would like to believe. […]
McAllen Might Be Over Simplification, But It Is A Start
[…] I don’t see a disparity between making more hospitals like the Mayo Clinic and focusing on how to cut costs in places like McAllen. I see them as two sides of the same story. Until we address the underlying issues that create cost structures like we see in McAllen, we aren’t likely to be successful in implementing healthcare reform that models itself on the Mayo Clinic.
State Versus Federal Regulation Of Health Insurance
Marcy Morrison, the Colorado insurance commissioner, has made it clear that she supports keeping insurance regulation at a state level. The creation of a Health Choices Commissioner is part of the reform bill drafted by House Democrats, and would basically duplicate a lot of the responsibilities currently handled by state insurance commissioners. […]
Healthcare Reform Ideas From An Economist Point Of View
[…] On an issue as complicated as healthcare reform, it’s disingenuous to claim that one side has all the answers, and Jason does a fantastic job of highlighting all sorts of issues from an objective viewpoint. His article includes recommendations and strategies that he feels would help to reform our healthcare system. […]
Multiple Viewpoints On Health Care Reform
[…] Topics like health care reform sometimes become so politically polarized that people start to think of one side as good and the other as bad, with no gray areas in between. Forums that allow multiple, often conflicting, ideas to be shared alongside one another are a great way to get past argument and start to find common ground.
Keep It Simple Senators
[…] I’m seeing lots of things that would be very beneficial to the clients we serve in Colorado who are purchasing individual health insurance: no underwriting, premiums that are not based on gender or health history, and no caps on benefits. I haven’t yet found any wording about how these changes would be financed though, and that could become a sticking point. […]
Public Option Not The Same As Medicare
[…] would a disproportionate number of sick people join the public system? Or perhaps more healthy people would switch to the public option? Would the premiums increase substantially over the first few years as the new system tried to balance costs? Would people be able to switch back and forth between the public and private systems? A lot remains to be seen. […]
Subsidies Are Key To Making A Mandate Work
[…] As of 2007, Colorado ranked 33rd in the nation in terms of percentage of working age adults (18 – 64) without health insurance. One in five working-age adults in Colorado is uninsured. My guess is that the majority of those people would love to have health insurance – if they could afford it. Most of the people who don’t have insurance cite cost as the main reason.
Designing An Effective, Enforceable, Individual Mandate
[…] As readers of the Colorado Health Insurance Insider know, Insurance markets pool risk. An insurance system will only work if the exposures of low risk individuals are pooled together with the exposures of higher risk individuals. Life insurance, homeowner’s insurance, auto insurance; they all work the same way. If health insurers are required to offer guaranteed access without an effective mandate requiring all Americans to maintain coverage, there would be a clear disincentive for healthy people to secure or maintain coverage. […]
Gender, Age, Geography, and Health Insurance Premiums
The new proposal put forth by AHIP would take into account only age and geography (not gender) when setting rates. Jaan points out that while this is all well and good, doesn’t it leave things open to cries of foul regarding ageism and geographism? In my opinion, it does. Age and gender are both factors that are beyond our control, and to a large part, so is geographical location. […]
Steps Towards Health Care Reform
The House has pledged to have a sweeping health care reform bill on the floor by the end of July, and details are starting to come out about the direction they want to take. Requiring everyone to have health insurance coverage is one of the cornerstones of the reform, and I strongly believe that without this piece of the puzzle in place, no reform will truly be effective. […]
Insuring Low Income Children Through Tax Returns
[…] In Colorado, there are 100,000 children who are eligible for Medicaid or CHP+ but remain uninsured. The state is working to expand access to these programs, but getting those 100,000 kids enrolled would make a good dent in the number of uninsured children in Colorado. And tax returns are a great way to identify families that qualify for state-funded health insurance. […]
Reid Absent In Sick Around America
[…] Reid wanted to make Sick Around America into a push towards national health insurance, and the producers wanted more of a documentary of how the health care system currently works. Reid withdrew from the film and asked that his interviews be edited out – he’s not in the new documentary at all, which will make it quite a bit different from last year’s show. […]
Hard To Please Everyone With A Single Health Plan
[…] There really is no one-size-fits-all when it comes to health insurance. In terms of health care reform, unless someone just starts handing out free health care (without tax increases or premiums…), it will be tough to get people to agree on a single plan, or even a handful of coverage options. […]
Colorado Single Payer House Bill Abandoned
[…] it really doesn’t make sense for an individual state to set up its own single payer health insurance system. We absolutely need to focus on providing access to health care for the people of Colorado who don’t have health insurance. But it makes more sense to expand programs that are already here.