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A Bail Out For The Health Care Industry

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[…] 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

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[…] 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.

Complaint Ratios Updated With 2007 Data

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The Colorado Division of Insurance has finished compiling and organizing the data for 2007. Visit the Colorado Health Insurance Company Complaint Ratio Comparison page to see the updated complaint, revenue, and market share statistics from the division of insurance along with the A.M. Best Rating information we’ve added alongside. We hope this makes it easier for you to shop for health insurance in Colorado, but you can always contact us for our expert assistance at no cost!

A Tenacious Appeal

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[…] We work with all of the major health insurance carriers in Colorado, and I talk with people from most of those companies on a daily basis. And almost all of them go out of their way to be helpful. The appeals process for claims and pre-authorizations can be long and painful, but if you think you’ve got a good case, don’t give up.

Health Insurance Premiums For Smokers

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Individual health insurance carriers in Colorado typically consider tobacco use when setting premiums. Rate increases vary from one company to another, and sometimes depend on other factors like age, BMI, blood pressure, and cholesterol levels. When Aetna entered the individual market in Colorado, their underwriting did not call for a increase in price for a… Read more about Health Insurance Premiums For Smokers

Elective Cesareans Not A Complication Of Pregnancy

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We got a notice in the mail yesterday from Humana, one of the health insurance carriers we represent in Colorado. They have revised their definition of complication of pregnancy to include cesareans, but not elective cesareans. I was very pleased to see this, and I’m glad that Humana is differentiating between the two. Obviously someone who schedules a c-section […]

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

Preventing Diabetes

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Now researchers in a long-term study have found that a healthy lifestyle followed for six years continues to lower the risk for developing type 2 diabetes for another 14 years. That’s a pretty impressive result. Here in Colorado, nearly 221,000 people have diabetes […]

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

Google Health Launches

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If their doctors could log onto the site and update it, allowing the other providers across Colorado and the world to keep abreast of what is being done for the patient, it could streamline the treatment process and allow doctors to work in unison instead of having to wait for records to be faxed or mailed from one office to another. I can see lots of potential for Google Health […]

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 […]

A Bad Trend in Rx Coverage

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We have health insurance to guard against financial devastation in the face of serious health problems. But when we separate out the prescription coverage from the rest of the policy, we’re leaving seriously ill patients to fall between the cracks.

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

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

Sunscreen, A Swimsuit, and Your Health Insurance Card

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According to a Business Week article, most of the major US health insurance carriers are moving towards including overseas hospitals in their provider networks, in an effort to encourage policy holders to utilize the much less expensive services that can be found in many of Asia’s top-notch private hospitals. Most of the hospitals are accredited… Read more about Sunscreen, A Swimsuit, and Your Health Insurance Card

Lower Share Prices For Humana And Wellpoint

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Humana and Wellpoint – both major players in the Colorado health insurance market – lowered their 2008 earnings projections on Wall Street this week. In both cases, higher-than-expected claims volume is partially to blame. Humana’s earnings drop is mainly tied to claims with their Medicare prescription drug program, which the company says will reset after… Read more about Lower Share Prices For Humana And Wellpoint

More Transparency For Network Negotiated Prices

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When Jay had an MRI on his knee last month, we were charged $1200. The EOB tells us that the Vail Valley Medical Center in Vail, Colorado, charges $1600 for the procedure. Our Humana health insurance has a negotiated rate of $1200, which is what we paid (we hadn’t met the deductible yet, so we… Read more about More Transparency For Network Negotiated Prices

They Should Have Just Paid For The Chemo

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HealthNet in CA has been ordered to pay $9 million to an insured who had her policy canceled midway through treatment for breast cancer. The bulk of the award – $8.4 million – was punitive damages, which should leave health insurance companies all over the country feeling a little nervous. Patsy Bates got her HealthNet… Read more about They Should Have Just Paid For The Chemo

Health Insurance After Infertility Treatment

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I just read a post by ForHealth about infertility treatment and individual health insurance. Her experience is one we’ve seen with some clients over the years. She went through fertility treatment – Clomid, in this case – which was unsuccessful. Three years later, she applied for an individual health insurance policy and was declined. The… Read more about Health Insurance After Infertility Treatment

Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield Product Enhancements

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Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield has long been a major player in the Colorado health insurance market. Brokers and clients alike tend to feel comfortable with Anthem Blue Cross, due in large part to their stability and network size. Yesterday I met with our Anthem Blue Cross representatives, and discussed some of their product enhancements…. Read more about Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield Product Enhancements