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Individual/Family Health

Healthcare spending is 17% of GDP; we should expect it to be a major line item in household budgets

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This USA Today article by Laura Ungar and Jayne O’Donnell is well worth reading.  In a nutshell, it’s all about rising deductibles, and the impact they have on consumers’ ability to pay for health care.  The facts are sobering:  wages have been flat for decades, with the inflation adjusted average hourly wage only increasing by… Read more about Healthcare spending is 17% of GDP; we should expect it to be a major line item in household budgets

Connect for Health Colorado glitch shows catastrophic plans to 30-year-olds

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SEE UPDATES AT THE BOTTOM OF THE POST Yesterday, while running quotes for a client who turned 30 a few months ago, we noticed that Catastrophic plans were showing up for him in the quoting tool on Connect for Health Colorado.  Catastrophic plans are a provision of the ACA, and are an extra level of… Read more about Connect for Health Colorado glitch shows catastrophic plans to 30-year-olds

Make sure to know about cost sharing reduction plan eligibility

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We’re more than two weeks into open enrollment now, and things are humming along – certainly compared with the first couple weeks of open enrollment last year.  In the first two weeks, the exchange has enrolled nearly ten thousand people, including renewals and new enrollees.  But keep in mind that the time frame is shortened… Read more about Make sure to know about cost sharing reduction plan eligibility

The skinny on Colorado health plan cancellations

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Earlier this month, Colorado Insurance Commissioner Marguerite Salazar sent a letter to Colorado’s Senate Minority Leader, detailing the upcoming policy cancellations in Colorado.  For 18,909 plan members, these policy cancellations are the result of a voluntary decision by the carriers.  For another 3,849 for SeeChange small group members, the cancellation is happening because California has… Read more about The skinny on Colorado health plan cancellations

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

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

Short term health insurance is your best option if you missed open enrollment

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Short term health insurance plans don’t have an open enrollment period Short term health insurance plans may be the best option if you missed open enrollment and you don’t have a qualifying event. Get short term health insurance quotes Qualifying events include marriage, divorce, birth, adoption, moving to a new area where different plans are… Read more about Short term health insurance is your best option if you missed open enrollment

Colorado making great progress covering the uninsured and underinsured

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Last November, the 2013 Colorado Health Access Survey was released with a variety of updated data, including the number of Colorado residents who were uninsured in 2013:  about 741,000.  That was down from 829,000 two years earlier, but is still 14% of our state population.  And it doesn’t include the people who are considered underinsured… Read more about Colorado making great progress covering the uninsured and underinsured

Connect for Health Colorado Updates On The End Of Open Enrollment for Health Insurance in 2014

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Back in October, six months probably seemed like plenty of time to have open enrollment for health insurance in 2014.  And for all the procrastinators out there – you know who you are! – there was always tomorrow.  But we’re now down to just one week remaining in open enrollment.  The good news is that… Read more about Connect for Health Colorado Updates On The End Of Open Enrollment for Health Insurance in 2014

Wouldn’t it be more efficient to spread ACA open enrollment across the whole year?

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As we head into the final few weeks of open enrollment, there’s likely to be a surge of applications both on an off the exchange.  And that means an uptick in phone calls to carriers and brokers, ID cards and policies being mailed out, premium payments being processed… all of the things that go along… Read more about Wouldn’t it be more efficient to spread ACA open enrollment across the whole year?