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Health Insurance Reform

What Drives Health Insurance Premiums

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Aetna CEO Ron Williams, who spoke today with the Senate Finance Committee about rising health insurance premiums. Williams cited the 6.6% profit margin reported for Aetna last year, and made the case that rising health insurance premiums are a reflection of rising health care costs, and that health insurance carriers have to raise prices in order to […]

Mandatory Health Insurance Not Likely

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In Colorado, two of the top five proposals being considered last year by the Blue Ribbon Commission included mandatory health insurance, and they’ve done it in MA – residents there are currently paying fines if they don’t have health insurance in place. But with Clinton out of the race, nationwide mandatory health insurance isn’t likely to come to […]

Individual Health Insurance Won’t Work For Everyone

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We work primarily in the individual health insurance market. Colorado is one of the healthiest states in the US, and yet we still have about one applicant in ten unable to obtain coverage. Luckily we have a high risk pool – Cover Colorado – that we can present as a last resort, but the high premiums and out-of-pocket expenses can be a bit off-putting. Although 9 out of 10 applicants […]

Caesareans Make It Harder To Get Health Insurance

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I just finished reading this article from the NY Times about how people who have had caesareans face more hurdles when they try to get individual health insurance. The article focuses on individual health insurance in Colorado, which made it especially interesting for me. Golden Rule – one of the companies mentioned in the article… Read more about Caesareans Make It Harder To Get Health Insurance

Young And Uninsured

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Most individual and group health insurance policies drop children once they are no longer full time students, although the rules on that have been changing in recent years. Colorado now allows dependent children to stay on their parents’ health insurance policy until age 25, and many other states have taken a similar position, with some allowing […]

Employers And Health Insurance Don’t Need To Mix

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What if every Colorado resident could be covered by a range of health insurance plans similar to what is available today in the group and individual market, but without any employer affiliations required? People would be covered continuously, regardless of their employment situation, and would not be trapped in a job just for the health insurance benefits […]

Colorado HB1389 Passes House And Senate

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HB 1389, the Fair Accountable Insurance Rates Act of 2008, has passed the Colorado House and Senate, and is headed to governor Bill Ritter for his signature next month. Health insurance companies doing business in Colorado will now be required to get approval from the state before enacting rate increases, and will have to disclose… Read more about Colorado HB1389 Passes House And Senate

McCain Health Care Hangs States Out To Dry

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In Colorado, we’re lucky to have Cover Colorado available for uninsurable residents who do not have access to other coverage. At least our state has a high risk pool that is open to new enrollees and provides health insurance for people who would otherwise be uninsured. But it’s far from ideal. The policies are expensive and the out of pocket costs are higher than […]

Rescinded Health Insurance Policies Getting Reinstated

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I’m curious to see how the situation in CA will affect our health insurance industry practices here in Colorado. I firmly believe that health insurance companies should do their homework before approving a policy, and that once a policy is issued by the insurer and accepted by the member, it should be a binding agreement. I know that would cost the health insurance companies […]

Pre-Existing Conditions a Serious Issue For Health Insurance

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…in Colorado, Cover Colorado provides a reasonable coverage option, although many people find that the only deductible they can afford is much higher than they would like. But what about people who live in the 40% of states that don’t have a high risk pool? Or the ones who live in states where the high risk pool was financially swamped ages ago and hasn’t […]

Genetic Testing Anti-Discrimination Law

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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 […]

Taking a Closer Look at Colorado HB 1389

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Colorado House Bill 1389, dubbed the Fair & Accountable Insurance Act, was approved by the House Business Affairs & Labor Committee. It now goes to the House Appropriations Committee. This bill, introduced by Rep. Morgan Carroll (D-Aurora) and Sen. Paula Sandoval (D-Denver), addresses a very complicated issue and we at the Colorado Health Insurance Insider… Read more about Taking a Closer Look at Colorado HB 1389

Health Care For All Pregnant Women

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I just came across a great article from Midwife With A Knife (The RHI Health Blog of the Week on Regulating Health Insurance). It’s about the frustration felt by a doctor dealing with non-compliant patients – in this case, pregnant diabetics who don’t manage their blood sugar and insulin during pregnancy, and end up with… Read more about Health Care For All Pregnant Women

Why Is There A Balance To Bill In The First Place?

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In CA, regulators are working to impose a ban on “balance billing” – the practice of billing patients for amounts over what their health insurance companies will pay for a given procedure. While most health insurance networks prohibit balance billing, there are only eight states that regulate the practice, and a good number of patients… Read more about Why Is There A Balance To Bill In The First Place?

Colorado Lawmakers Addressing Health Insurance Premium Increases

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Colorado lawmakers have proposed legislation that would tighten restrictions on health insurance carriers regarding premium increases and the timeliness of claims payment. The bill to limit premium increases was sponsored by state representative Morgan Carroll (D), who cited a 60% increase in health insurance premiums in Colorado between 2001 and 2005. During the same time,… Read more about Colorado Lawmakers Addressing Health Insurance Premium Increases

Capping Health Insurance Premiums

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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

Just About Everyone Agrees That Something Needs To Be Done

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How often do you see a poll where 95% of the respondents agree on an issue? That’s the percentage of the more than 26,000 people recruited to take an online survey about health care in America, who believe that our health care system needs fundamental and major changes. Most of the respondents have jobs, a… Read more about Just About Everyone Agrees That Something Needs To Be Done

Is Mandatory Health Insurance Unconstitutional?

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I just came across an excellent article by Karl Manheim and Jamie Court. It presents some compelling explanations of how the idea of making private health insurance mandatory for American citizens may not be constitutional. At the Colorado Health Insurance Insider, I’ve come out in support of mandatory health insurance, and also very much in… Read more about Is Mandatory Health Insurance Unconstitutional?

If The Cancer Doesn’t Kill You, The Price Tag Might

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What do you do when you’re 71 years old, battling blood cancer, and find out that your cost for the medication that is treating your cancer has gone from $60/month to $1051/month? Helen Geiger had to stop taking the cancer medication Thalomid for several months last year while her family and doctors appealed the insurance… Read more about If The Cancer Doesn’t Kill You, The Price Tag Might