[…] no matter how comprehensive or affordable our health insurance is, we won’t be healthy without a good deal of personal commitment. But it’s unrealistic to expect people to purchase fruits and vegetables over less expensive grain products. As long as we continue to subsidize the grain products, they will continue to be less expensive and more widely available.
colorado
Personal And Government Responsibility For Health Care
[…] So while we need to do a better job of stressing personal responsibility in health care, we also need to make sure that everyone has access to quality health care and a good catastrophic health insurance policy. The health care problems that we’re facing aren’t going to be solved by government alone, but they also aren’t going to be solved without any government action at all.
Colorado Senator Morgan Carroll On Health Insurance
Colorado state senator Morgan Carroll has written a very persuasive article about why we should end gender-based pricing in the individual health insurance market. I agree that it makes more sense to average premiums across the entire population, but I also understand that doing so would mean a rate increase for men to offset the rate decrease for women. […]
Illegal Immigrants And Health Care Reform
Both sides are fired up about this, and it’s a very contentious issue. We’ve already had the abortion issue get dragged into health care reform, and now illegal immigration has added more fuel to the fire. Some people might be uninterested in health care refom otherwise, but when you start talking about things like abortion and illegal immigration, it gets attention. […]
The Impact Of Medical Underwriting On Premiums
[…] Many proponents of a shift away from medical underwriting want to require everyone to carry health insurance. That would help spread the cost of care across a larger population, and would likely help to contain the price increase that we would see if medical underwriting were to cease. But my guess is that we would still see a rather dramatic increase in premiums.
Drug Industry Wrongs Impacting Health Insurance Benefits
Pfizer was also illegally marketing Bextra, Lyrica, and Zyvox. They have settled for a record $2.3 billion, but Dr. Zhang points out that the sum is equal to three weeks of sales at Pfizer. Seems a bit paltry when you think about it. It’s like fining the average family a couple thousand dollars. Sure, it would sting a bit, but it wouldn’t really take that long to pay it off and forget about it. […]
Outcome Based Incentives For Doctors
[…] In order to truly provide quality care, a doctor is likely going to have to spend more time with sicker patients. This should be reflected in how the doctor is compensated, along with the outcome-based incentives. There are ways to implement an outcome-based incentive system for doctors while at the same time making sure that they aren’t encouraged to avoid the sickest patients.
The Safety Of Planned Home Births
[…] I’d like to see homebirth midwifery legalized and regulated in every state. I’d also like to see it as a covered expense on any health insurance policy that covers maternity. In Colorado, home birth midwifery is legal and regulated, but midwives have to jump through a lot of hoops to get paid on the rare occasions when their clients’ health insurance policies cover home birth expenses. […]
Marketing in Disguise
I almost tossed it. But then I saw the notice across the front of the envelope: “Attention Rural Co-operative Members. You may now qualify for a Hospitalization Policy that helps pay outpatient expenses.” My curiosity was piqued, given the health insurance co-op ideas that have been tossed around this summer […]
Complaint Ratios Updated With 2008 Data
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 […]
Cooperatives And The Colorado Health Insurance Market
[…] One of the criticisms of the private health insurance industry is that there isn’t much real competition. Proponents of the co-op idea believe that co-ops would increase competition and thus drive down costs. I’m sure that this is the case in some markets, but here in Colorado we have a pretty robust health insurance market, with lots of companies competing with each other. […]
Public And Private Enterprises Can Coexist
[…] There is all sorts of competition and cooperation that already exists between the private and public sector. One way or another, I’m hopeful that we’ll end up with some sort of compromise that results in expanded access to health insurance and health care for more people.
Prevention Versus Early Detection
Much has been said about the merits of preventive medicine. It’s been a major talking point for politicians on both sides of the aisle throughout the health care reform debate. Whatever reform measures end up being enacted, there is likely to be an enhanced focus on screening tests. […] But does preventive medicine really help? […]
What We Expect Of Insurance
[…] In Colorado, if a person chooses to go without health insurance and ends up with a catastrophic medical bill, bankruptcy will be the likely outcome. Same story for a person who chooses to drive without car insurance and then causes a serious accident, except that the person driving without car insurance will also be facing legal action for making that choice. […]
Anthem Blue Cross And Boulder Chamber Offer New Health Insurance
[…] This is a big step forward for health insurance. Boulder is a great place to start something like this, as residents there do utilize alternative health care a bit more than the average Colorado resident. But over the years, we’ve had inquiries from people all over the state who are looking for a health insurance policy that will allow them to utilize alternative care. […]
The 82nd Cavalcade Of Risk
[…] Jaan homes in on the notion Bob puts forth that health insurance carriers are responsible for spiraling healthcare costs, and should thus be accountable for keeping those costs in check. I agree with Jaan here – health insurance companies are already highly regulated entities, and don’t have as much say when it comes to costs as the public would like to believe. […]
State Versus Federal Regulation Of Health Insurance
Marcy Morrison, the Colorado insurance commissioner, has made it clear that she supports keeping insurance regulation at a state level. The creation of a Health Choices Commissioner is part of the reform bill drafted by House Democrats, and would basically duplicate a lot of the responsibilities currently handled by state insurance commissioners. […]
Medical Underwriting And Policy Rescission
[…] Electronic medical records that allow underwriters to see complete medical histories at the time of application would greatly reduce the number of policy recissions. Then again, there’s a lot of talk on the table right now about eliminating medical underwriting all together, which would solve the problem once and for all.
Removing An Exclusion Rider On Our Policy
[…] It’s a lot of hoops to jump through, but if you have an individual health insurance policy in a state like Colorado that allows pre-existing condition exclusion riders, you might want to double check to see if your rider can be re-evaluated. Most carriers in Colorado require that the condition be resolved for at least a year before you can request a review of the rider. […]
Health Care Must Be About More Than Money
[…] We all need to take a hard look at our motivations and what we consider to be our primary responsibilities. Anyone who puts making money at the top of the list might be better served in a different profession. Obviously, money will be somewhere on the list – we all need an income. But the health care industry isn’t a place where money should be the driving factor. […]
A La Carte Not Such A Good Idea For Health Insurance
[…] the al la carte insurance idea, written as a piece of satirical genius, reminded me of policies that are sold by some of the less scrupulous health insurance carriers in Colorado. If your health insurance application is asking you to decide whether you’d like to have coverage for cancer and ambulance rides, you might want to keep shopping.
Humana Approved Our Appeal
[…] We’re thrilled with Humana’s decision, and we’re glad to be able to offer their policies to our clients in Colorado. Jay’s knees are really the first time we’ve had to use our health insurance for anything more than preventive care, and we’re happy to be able to report that everything has worked the way it’s supposed to. […]
Health Insurance Companies Performing Better
[…] health insurance companies are indeed working to be better stewards for the customers they serve – insureds and providers. In 2008 (vs 2007), health insurance companies paid providers 5.3% faster and denied 9% fewer claims. This is what the health insurance industry is in business to do: pay claims, and pay them quickly. […]
Subsidies Are Key To Making A Mandate Work
[…] As of 2007, Colorado ranked 33rd in the nation in terms of percentage of working age adults (18 – 64) without health insurance. One in five working-age adults in Colorado is uninsured. My guess is that the majority of those people would love to have health insurance – if they could afford it. Most of the people who don’t have insurance cite cost as the main reason.
Designing An Effective, Enforceable, Individual Mandate
[…] As readers of the Colorado Health Insurance Insider know, Insurance markets pool risk. An insurance system will only work if the exposures of low risk individuals are pooled together with the exposures of higher risk individuals. Life insurance, homeowner’s insurance, auto insurance; they all work the same way. If health insurers are required to offer guaranteed access without an effective mandate requiring all Americans to maintain coverage, there would be a clear disincentive for healthy people to secure or maintain coverage. […]