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Kaiser Permanente Pays Colorado Adults To Lose Weight And Keep It Off

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Since last April, Kaiser Permanente has been offering cash to Colorado adults who lose weight and keep it off through their Weigh and Win program. Researchers have long known that cash is a powerful incentive, and the Kaiser program utilizes that motivation factor to encourage people to lose weight and establish a healthier lifestyle. Participants are eligible to receive quarterly checks for up to nine consecutive months after their second weigh-in at one of the Weigh and Win kiosks, as long as they continue to lose weight or keep off the weight they lost between their first and second weigh-ins.

The program is available to Colorado adults age 18 and up who have an initial BMI of at least 25. Those with a BMI of less than 25 are eligible to win prizes by completing weekly journals, weighing-in at the kiosks quarterly, and reading emails from the Weigh and Win program, but the cash rewards are only available based on weight loss for participants who start with a BMI of at least 25. […]

Colorado Child-Only Open Enrollment Details For January 2012

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The next open enrollment for child-only policies is almost here, so I thought it might be helpful to provide some specific details in terms of what policies are available and what parents should expect when submitting child-only applications next month.

The first open enrollment window in 2012 will be the month of January. Applications for child-only policies have to be submitted between January 1 and January 31. Application not submitted by the end of January will have to wait and re-submit in July, which is the second open-enrollment period of the year. For most carriers, each child in a family will have to have a separate application.

All eligible child-only applications submitted during the open enrollment period are guaranteed issue, so the child cannot be refused coverage. However, the applications are still medically underwritten and the rate can be increased by up to 200% based on the child’s medical history (so if the standard price is $100, the policy could actually be assigned a rate of $300, which is equal to a 200% rate increase).

Colorado Senate Bill 128 requires all Colorado health insurance carriers that offer coverage for adults to also offer child-only plans during the two annual open enrollment windows. But the bill does not require carriers to provide guaranteed issue coverage for children who are eligible for health insurance from another source (other than a high risk pool like CoverColorado or GettingUSCovered – see the bottom of page 4).

Most Colorado carriers have selected one or two plan designs that will be available for child-only applications next month. To give you an idea of what is available in Colorado for child-only coverage, we’re providing information here regarding child-only options from six of the top individual health insurance carriers in the state. […]

Kaiser Permanente Announces Plans to Add Coverage in Fort Collins, Loveland and Greeley

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Yesterday, Kaiser Permanente filed for approval with the Colorado Division of Insurance to offer health care coverage in Northern Colorado beginning in late 2012. This expansion will include new Kaiser Permanente medical offices in Fort Collins, Loveland and Greeley, a contracted network of community providers and an exclusive hospital agreement with Banner Health hospitals and physicians. Technically, people in Loveland zip codes can already get coverage with Kaiser, but the closest facilities are in Longmont.

We don’t know yet if this expansion will include coverage for employer group as well as individual/family plans. For example, Kaiser has coverage in Colorado Springs, but only for employer groups. Individual/family coverage for Kaiser is limited to the south Denver metro area up through […]

Kaiser Permanente Colorado Gets Top NCOA Ranking

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Kaiser Permanente Colorado is the highest-rated private health insurance plan in Colorado and one of the top-ranked private health plans (#6) in the nation for clinical performance and effectiveness, as well as member satisfaction, according to new rankings by the independent, non-profit National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA).
Kaiser is one of the top 10 plans in the nation in 36 of the 40 health outcome measures, recognizing high quality clinical care

Colorado House Approves Child-Only Health Insurance Bill

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The language of the law was modified to include open-enrollment periods during which children could apply for coverage, and last September the Colorado Division of Insurance officially designated those open-enrollment periods as January and July each year. The idea was that with open-enrollment periods rather than constant access to new policies, parents would be less likely to wait until a child was sick to seek coverage. But even with the open-enrollment periods, only two carriers – Rocky Mountain Health Plans and […]

Colorado Senator Introducing Legislation To Study Health Care

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Colorado Senator Irene Aguilar, a Democrat from Denver, will be introducing legislation next month to address the fact that there are still 700,000 people in Colorado without health insurance. Although Colorado has made strides recently in areas like the expansion of Medicaid, we didn’t even come close to fulfilling former Governor Bill Ritter’s hopes for health insurance for all Colorado citizens by the end of 2010. […]

Few Carriers Offering Child Only Policies During Open Enrollment

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[…] You can still get quotes for child-only plans, but the only options that will appear on quote engines that work with major health insurance carriers are Rocky Mountain Health Plans, and Kaiser Permanente for people in the Denver/Boulder area. We wanted to clarify this point in case there is confusion surrounding the open enrollment period. It’s unknown whether the other major carriers will be able to find a way to make child-only coverage a profitable venture as time goes by, but for now, the options are still quite limited in the child-only market in Colorado, regardless of the open enrollment window.

Quoting Blackout On Most Plans and Effective Dates

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Many plans with most carriers still haven’t gotten the rates approved past 9/23. These plans with carriers like Anthem BCBS can still be quoted with effective dates of 9/22 and before.
Carriers like Cigna only have 1st and 15th of the month effective date options. Therefore, rates and plans are not being quoted at all until the DOI approves their rates. Hopefully any moment.
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Colorado Division Of Insurance Reconsidering Anthem Rate Increase

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[…] But these numbers would seem to indicate that while Anthem’s rate increase may have been large, it seems to be in line with what other carriers are charging in Colorado. For the little test I conducted, Anthem’s premium was the second-lowest I found, and the only one with a lower premium had an additional thousand dollars in out of pocket exposure.

Complaint Ratios Updated With 2008 Data

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The Colorado Division of Insurance has finished compiling and organizing the data for 2008. 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 […]

Colorado House Kills Oral Chemotherapy Bill

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The Colorado House killed a bill today that would have required Colorado health insurance companies to cover oral chemotherapy pills. Diane Primavera (D-Broomfield), sponsored Senate Bill 250 in the House, and had support from patient advocate groups and the pharmaceutical industry. But the House Health and Human Services Committee voted 7 – 4 to kill the bill. […]

Non-Profit Does Not Necessarily Mean Low Cost

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I recently posted an article on the Colorado Health Insurance Insider about my views on making Medicare available as an opt-in option for Americans younger than 65. I got a comment on the article that I thought brought up some good points and wanted to expand on some of the ideas. The reader pointed out that a good number of private health insurance plans are non-profit […]

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!

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 […]

Kaiser Permanente Provider Change for Boulder/Longmont Area

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Effective June 1, 2008, Boulder Valley Individual Practice Association (BVIPA) and the Longmont Clinic will no longer participate in the Kaiser Permanente Private Healthcare Systems (PHCS) provider network. PHCS is the provider network available to Kaiser Permanente Preferred Provider Organization (PPO) and Point of Service (POS) members in Colorado. Kaiser says […]

Kaiser Permanente Hospital Change for PPO and POS Members

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Effective immediately, Longmont United Hospital will no longer be participating in Kaiser Permanente’s Colorado provider network for Preferred Provider Organization(PPO) and Point of Service (POS) benefit plans in the Private Healthcare Systems (PHCS) health insurance network. [Longmont United Hospital still works with the PHCS network – just not through Kaiser] Kaiser is very disappointed by… Read more about Kaiser Permanente Hospital Change for PPO and POS Members

Not A Lot Of Comparison Shopping with HSAs Yet

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With health insurance premiums on an every-increasing trend, employers and individuals have been looking for ways to cut costs. High deductible health insurance plans in combination with health savings accounts have been widely touted by government officials as a way to lower costs. Indeed, the premiums for an HDHP are generally lower than premiums for… Read more about Not A Lot Of Comparison Shopping with HSAs Yet

More Thorough Underwriting A Good Idea

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A district court of appeals in CA has ruled that insurers must review health insurance applications for accuracy before a policy is issued, rather than wait until an insured has a large claim to initiate a review.  This seems like a very valid requirement, and is something I’d like to see implemented here in Colorado… Read more about More Thorough Underwriting A Good Idea

Religion and Medicine A Bad Mix

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As of the end of next month, the Catholic hospital group Sisters of Charity of Leavenworth Health System will be taking over two Denver, Colorado-area Exempla hospitals. Lutheran Medical Center in Wheat Ridge and Good Samaritan Medical Center in Lafayette will join Denver’s St. Joseph’s as hospitals controlled by the Catholic organization. The group reportedly… Read more about Religion and Medicine A Bad Mix

Another Proposal For Health Care Reform In Colorado

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Last week Republican lawmakers in Colorado unveiled their version of health care reform. It’s an attempt to make small fixes to the state’s ailing health care system without raising taxes or turning health care over to the government. The proposed reforms are far less substantial than the options being considered by the Blue Ribbon Commission… Read more about Another Proposal For Health Care Reform In Colorado

Health Insurance Policy Maximums Stuck in the 90s

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Ten years ago, it was very rare to hear of someone incurring a medical bill that topped $1 million. Twenty years ago, it was almost unheard of. But today, although it’s still not that common, it doesn’t surprise most people when they hear stories of seven-figure hospital bills. According to a Kaiser Network article, 34%… Read more about Health Insurance Policy Maximums Stuck in the 90s

Hospital Sale Will Limit Health Care

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Physicians and patients are watching a pending $611 million sale of Exempla Lutheran Medical Center in Wheatridge and Exempla Good Samaritan Medical Center in Lafayette to Sisters of Charity of Leavenworth Health System, a Catholic organization in Kansas. At issue are the “ethical and religious directives” that many hospitals owned by Catholic organizations must follow,… Read more about Hospital Sale Will Limit Health Care

Of Course It Won’t Be Easy

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According to policy experts, it might not be an easy task for other states like Colorado to duplicate the new Massachusetts law the brings nearly universal health coverage to the state. Apparently Mass. already had a “free care pool” in place that they are able to use to subsidize the new health-care-for-all program. In other… Read more about Of Course It Won’t Be Easy

Another Group Working To Fix Colorado Health Care

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Representatives met today from several diverse groups in the Colorado health care sector, with a goal of reaching a bipartisan solution to the health care problems facing Colorado. The list of partners in the project is long and impressive, including Kaiser Permanente, the National Federation of Independent Business, the Service Employees International Union, the Colorado… Read more about Another Group Working To Fix Colorado Health Care

Blue Ribbon Commission Now Has Five Approved Drafts

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Another draft of a proposal to reform Colorado’s health care system was approved on Monday by the Blue Ribbon Commission on Health Care Reform. That makes five proposals that have been approved for consideration so far. The Commission will recommend a final version of Colorado’s health care reform, hopefully within the next few months. The… Read more about Blue Ribbon Commission Now Has Five Approved Drafts