November 2008

Cost Of Treating The Uninsured At Denver Health

by Louise November 27, 2008

Here in Colorado, Denver Health Medical Center treats a large number of patients without health insurance, and the cost is staggering. Last year, it cost the hospital $275 million to treat uninsured patients. That number rose to $300 million this year, and is projected to increase to [...]

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Guest Blogger Writes About Health Care Reform

by Guest November 25, 2008

[...] Over half of all Americans have gone without needed health care (such as doctor visits, medications, and other treatments) due to cost. In most cases, it’s preventative care that suffers. That neglect leads to far higher costs for patients and society in the long run. In light of this study, many are calling for health care reform in the United States.

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Health Insurance Reform Alone Is Not The Solution

by Louise November 25, 2008

[...] At the Colorado Health Insurance Insider, we’re part of the health insurance industry, but we also try to look at health care reform from an unbiased position. We see the shortcomings in the health insurance industry; we also see failures throughout the health care industry in controlling costs and providing affordable access to health care for everyone. [...]

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Mandatory And Guaranteed Issue Health Insurance

by Louise November 21, 2008

[...] I think scrapping medical underwriting would drive health insurance premiums out of reach for the average American. That would mean even more people without health insurance. Here in Colorado, making health insurance mandatory gained a lot of ground last year with the Blue Ribbon Commission on Health Care, but we haven’t seen any changes yet.

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United Healthcare Eliminates FACT Fee

by Jay November 20, 2008

United Healthcare/Golden Rule has always required that members joined an association called “FACT” in order to purchase the health insurance.  It was only $3/month, but it was still annoying.  For applicants submitting new applications from today on, there is no more FACT fee! -Jay

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The Failings Of The Free Market In Health Care

by Louise November 20, 2008

At the Colorado Health Insurance Insider, we’ve often written about the “free market” in health care. In our corner of the industry, there’s really only a free market for the healthiest of applicants. Those with pre-existing conditions can’t get some polices no matter how much they’re [...]

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Big Pharma Likes The Free Market

by Louise November 18, 2008

[...] What it really boils down to is that it doesn’t matter how great the drugs are if people can’t afford them. Here in Colorado we’ve seen more and more health insurance carriers increase copays for drugs, add prescription deductibles, or cover only generic drugs in an effort to keep prescription costs under control. [...]

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The Affordability Of Individual Health Insurance

by Louise November 17, 2008

[...] Colorado has average premiums below the national rate, at $141/month for an individual. If you’re healthy there are plenty of affordable options available, and in the event of a serious health problem, an individual health insurance policy will protect your assets. Which is why we have health insurance in the first place.

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Colorado Earns D On Prematurity Report Card

by Louise November 14, 2008

The March of Dimes has released a report card on the nation’s premature birth rates. Colorado got a D. Not good, but we’ve got a lot of company: the whole country got a D overall. Only nine states earned grades higher than a D, and not one state got an A. It turns out that a lack of health insurance is a big part of the problem. [...]

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