[…] At the Colorado Health Insurance Insider, we’re part of the health insurance industry, but we also try to look at health care reform from an unbiased position. We see the shortcomings in the health insurance industry; we also see failures throughout the health care industry in controlling costs and providing affordable access to health care for everyone. […]
Health Insurance Reform
Mandatory And Guaranteed Issue Health Insurance
[…] I think scrapping medical underwriting would drive health insurance premiums out of reach for the average American. That would mean even more people without health insurance. Here in Colorado, making health insurance mandatory gained a lot of ground last year with the Blue Ribbon Commission on Health Care, but we haven’t seen any changes yet.
Big Pharma Likes The Free Market
[…] What it really boils down to is that it doesn’t matter how great the drugs are if people can’t afford them. Here in Colorado we’ve seen more and more health insurance carriers increase copays for drugs, add prescription deductibles, or cover only generic drugs in an effort to keep prescription costs under control. […]
Health Wonk Review – The Election Is Over Edition
If you’re wondering what to do with yourself now that the election is over and you can’t listen to pundits debate the finer points of political campaigning, the Health Wonk Review is here to entertain and educate. So how exactly will health care reform fare under our new […]
The Future Of Our Health Care System
[…] Here in Colorado, Cigna has just started offering individual health insurance policies, and Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield has rolled out their new Smart Sense plan for individuals. I doubt that reputable carriers like Cigna and Anthem would be putting time and money into new plans if they sensed single payer health care just around the corner.
Combining Public And Private Health Insurance
For the seventh straight year the percentage of Americans under 65 with employer-sponsored health insurance coverage has declined. In Colorado, the number of people getting health insurance through an employer dropped 6.5% over the last seven years, resulting in […]
Improving Public Opinion Of Health Insurance Companies
[…] A renewed focus on customer service, simplicity, speedy payment of claims and lowered overhead expenses would go a long way towards improving public opinion of health insurance companies. Health insurance carriers hold lives and livlihoods in their hands. This responsibility cannot be taken lightly.
Health Insurance Premiums For Men And Women
The issue of women paying more than men for health insurance has been in the news quite a bit in recent days. In Colorado – as in most states – women pay more than men for health insurance until age 50-55. I believe it would be more logical to average the costs of health insurance for men and women, and charge the same rates to both groups. […]
Guest Blogger – Concerns About Health Insurance
Today’s Guest Blogger is J.A., an RN, who submitted via our “Be A Guest Blogger” page:
I am paying COBRA, health and dental at $640. per month. I am a nurse, recently diagnosed with cystic fibrosis (CF) at age 50, this year. Cobra is 18 months with 11 month extension. I was informed I have to exhaust COBRA timeline before being eligible for Cover Colorado […]
Expanding Universal Health Coverage In America
[…] There’s a huge group of people with other serious illnesses who are having to struggle with not only their health condition but also with the status of their health insurance coverage. An expansion of Medicare to cover anyone with a chronic illness makes sense, and would eliminate some of the economic burden currently endured by those individuals.
Leaving a Four Year Old Kid With No Options
[…] I realize that anecdotes are not statistical data. And the story of one family’s struggles with health insurance, regardless of how compelling that story may be, is indeed an anecdote. But I challenge anyone who believes that our health care and health insurance systems are not broken, to come up with a workable solution for the Wilkes family.
Autism And Health Insurance
[…] In Colorado, health insurance carriers are not required to pay for behavior therapy to treat autism. But what if the government stepped in with a program like Medicare for autism? The government could negotiate lower reimbursement rates, but because all children with autism would be receiving care there would be an increased volume for providers.
More Regulation Needed To Mandate Employer Coverage
[…] If our overall goal is increasing the insured population among employees of small businesses here in Colorado and across the country, I think the answer lies with the government covering some portion of the premiums or the claims, in addition to asking employers to take more responsibility for their employees’ health insurance.
Business 101 For Joe The Plumber
[…] So Obama would increase taxes on the plumbing business by $900/year (if the business is making an annual profit of $280,000). McCain would let the business keep that $900/year, but he would take away more than $9,000 in tax savings that the business gets by deducting health insurance premiums.
Where The Uninsureds Live
[…] In Colorado, there are 12 counties with at least 29.7% of their population with no health insurance. I think this micro-analysis of the uninsured population is long overdue, and I’m hopeful that it will help lawmakers and health insurance carriers target the hardest hit areas when new policy designs and future government health care subsidies are introduced.
Health Insurance And The Free Market
For Colorado residents who are unable to afford a private policy, or unable to qualify at any price, we need a safety net funded with tax dollars. For essential commodities, I don’t believe that having a government back up system signifies the downfall of the free market – it just guarantees a service that isn’t adequately provided in a fully market-driven system. […]
Health Insurance Tax Credit Does Not Solve The Problem
[…] In order for health care reform to work, it has to work for everyone. We need a solution that spreads the cost of health care evenly across the entire population (adjusted for income, just as taxes are) and doesn’t leave large groups (like people with pre-existing conditions) to fend for themselves with no good health insurance options available.
The Cost Of Individual Health Insurance In Colorado
[…] Of course Colorado – like most states – uses medical underwriting on individual health insurance policies. And if underwriting were no longer allowed on Colorado policies, we could very well see the average family premium exceed $700/month. But for now, $5000 goes a long way towards paying for a health insurance policy in Colorado. […]
A Health Care Bubble
[…] We’re continually grasping for the latest and greatest technology in health care (with prices increasing all the while) which essentially keeps putting basic health care out of reach for more people. We over-test, over-medicate, and over-treat patients who have health insurance, while those without health insurance struggle to get even the most basic of care.
Health Care Reform Overshadowed By Economic Crisis
The Senate Finance Committee met this week to discuss ideas for lowering the number of Americans without health insurance. Democratic Senator Ken Salazar from Colorado mentioned that regardless of what ideas congress comes up with to reform our broken health care system, the “ominous cloud” of the government bail out for the financial industry “may… Read more about Health Care Reform Overshadowed By Economic Crisis
A Bail Out For The Health Care Industry
[…] A little government intervention could go a long way towards getting health insurance and access to health care for all Americans. It does appear that the government is willing to bail out a major free market system if things get bad enough. I just wonder how bad things will have to get in the health care industry before it’s considered bad enough.
Dangerous Bill To Be Aimed at the Individual Market
[…] if you currently have pre-existing health conditions and would like to double or triple your health insurance premiums, contact your legislators and tell them to remove underwriting from individual/family health insurance in Colorado so healthy people no longer have a reason to purchase coverage for the possibility of future health problems.
Obama And McCain On Mandatory Health Insurance
[…] No president is going to be able to reform health care on a whim – there are 100 senators and 435 representatives who have some input too. But Obama’s reform proposal is at least aiming towards health insurance for all children in America (in Colorado, 175,000 children are uninsured). It’s a small, but significant, step on the road to health insurance for everyone.
If You Have No Ideas, Just Deny The Problem Exists
[…] I’m hopeful that our next president will make an effort to reduce the number of people in Colorado and across the nation who are without health insurance. If the next president is John McCain, I hope that when he’s searching for advisers, he at least picks people who do think that we have some problems in our health care system.
Health Care Reform Losing Ground
[…] while it would be nice to see sweeping reform that provides access to health care for the 47 million Americans (760,000 of them right here in Colorado) who don’t have health insurance at all, I’d be happy with anything that puts us on the path towards lowering that number and reducing the inequitable nature of our current health care system.