August 2007

United Healthcare Improves Plans, Lowers Rates

by Jay August 31, 2007

United Healthcare has just made some big changes to their individual/family health insurance plans in Colorado. Some of the best improvements are: More flexible underwriting, including a height and weight chart with expanded limits. A first-day wellness benefit. More deductible options United Healthcare was already one of our favorites for underwriting on impaired risk cases. [...]

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No Easy Fixes for Health Insurance

by Louise August 29, 2007

It seems that about every third client we talk with here in Colorado is unhappy with the current health insurance system. If you look at the clients with pre-existing medical conditions, nearly all of them have complaints about the system. For people with employer-sponsored coverage, the complaint is that the policy costs too much or [...]

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C-Sections, Maternal Death, and Health Insurance

by Louise August 27, 2007

According to new government data, maternal death from childbirth is on the rise in the US, up to 13 deaths per 100,000 live births – 30 years ago the rate was 10 per 100,000 live births. The increase is attributed to several factors, including changes in how deaths are reported in some states, increasing maternal [...]

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A Pretty Lady, A Puppy, and Some Daisies

by Louise August 22, 2007

I was heartened today to see this article announcing that the FDA is going to start studying whether “relaxing, upbeat images featured in TV drug ads distract consumers from warnings about the drugs’ risks.” According to the article, drug companies in the US spent $29.9 billion on advertising in 2005 – up 330% from a [...]

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Enjoy the Cavalcade of Risk

by Jay August 16, 2007

InsuranceHelpHub hosts this weeks Cavalcade of Risk.  It’s well worth your time to check out the collection of articles.  Enjoy. -Jay

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How Do We Improve Our Health Policy?

by Louise August 13, 2007

According to recent Census Bureau data, life expectancy for a baby born in the US in 2004 is 77.9 years. Of the 222 countries that the Census Bureau tracks, there are 41 with longer life expectancies, including Guam, Andorra, Macau, and Singapore. Something’s wrong here when one of the richest countries in the world, the [...]

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Medical Identity Theft

by Louise August 10, 2007

I was thumbing through some library magazines recently, and came across a facinating article in Good Housekeeping.  Medical identity theft is still a very rare crime compared with all the other id theft problems, but apparently it’s growing at an alarming rate.  The article is full of horror stories, including a pregnant meth addict who stole a [...]

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Check Out the Health Wonk Review

by Jay August 9, 2007

Julie Ferguson of the Workers’ Comp Insider plays host to the latest edition of the Health Wonk Review.  As usual, the quality of articles can’t be beat and you’ll learn a lot about health policy by reading through what these top experts are talking about. Enjoy! -Jay

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Our 1st Blogiversary

by Louise August 9, 2007

August 9th.  One year since we started the Colorado Health Insurance Insider.  We were on blogspot for about a month before we decided to host the blog on our website. Last year at this time, we knew a lot about health insurance in Colorado, since that’s our market.  But being in the health care blogosphere has [...]

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