December 2010

Colorado Receives $13.7 Million Award For Medicaid Program

by Louise December 30, 2010

Colorado was one of 15 states to receive a grant from the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services this week, thanks to changes that the state made in the enrollment process for Medicaid in order to expand the program. Colorado got $13.7 million, which will be used to help finance the state’s Medicaid system. [...]

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Humana 2011 Rates Are Official

by Jay December 30, 2010

Clients in Colorado can now get quotes and apply for HumanaOne with effective dates of 1/1/2011 or later.  Remember, these will include maternity coverage as a base benefit.  Existing members with an Enhanced, Copay, HSA, or Value plan will receive these benefit changes at the time of their renewal. For clients who have an Autograph, [...]

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Cigna 2011 Rates Are Live

by Jay December 29, 2010

Cigna is quoting 2011 rates on their online quote tool. And our quote comparison engine is being updated right now and will be quoting Cigna soon. Click through to the article for links.

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Double Digit Premium Increases Continue In Colorado

by Louise December 22, 2010

The Colorado Division of Insurance issued a press release on Monday, addressing the fact that health insurance premiums in Colorado are continuing to increase. They reiterated some numbers from earlier this fall, noting that less than 5% of the overall rate increases for next year can be attributed to changes implemented by federal health care reform. The vast majority of the rate hikes that insureds will see in 2011 are due to factors that have been driving health insurance premiums for years, long before federal reform became an issue. As long as the cost of health care continues to rise, the cost of health insurance will rise along with it. [...]

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Possible Alternatives To The Individual Mandate

by Louise December 20, 2010

[...] While many other aspects of reform are generally popular (like the provision to allow young adults to remain on their parents’ health insurance until age 26, and the requirement that all policies be guaranteed issue starting in 2014), the individual mandate has raised a lot of hackles, with people feeling that the government is infringing on their rights by telling them that they have to buy a product (and in most cases, that product will come from a private company). [...]

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Anthem Blue Cross, Assurant, and Rocky Mountain Quoting 2011 Plans and Rates

by Jay December 20, 2010

Anyone looking to compare plans with 2011 rates can start with Anthem BCBS, Assurant, and Rocky Mountain Health Plans (get quotes here).  These will include maternity coverage. More coming this week…. -Jay

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Colorado Falls To 13th In America’s Health Ranking

by Louise December 16, 2010

America’s Health Rankings released their annual report this month, and Colorado fell from 8th place in 2009 to 13th place in 2010. Overall, Colorado does quite well in terms of current health outcomes, but we fall short in terms of some factors that could lead to lower health outcomes over time (insurance coverage, geographic disparity, and immunization rates). [...]

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Standardized Language For Health Insurance

by Louise December 15, 2010

[...] In Colorado, all policies have long been required to have a standardized plan description form (separate from the carrier-created marketing brochure), and House Bill 1166 passed earlier this year, requiring that all policy information be written at no more than a 10th grade reading level. But I think that most consumers tend to look at brochures, mailers, online advertising, and other marketing materials designed by each insurance carrier. [...]

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Last Day To Submit Cigna and Aetna applications for 2010 rates

by Jay December 14, 2010

Make sure to get Cigna and Aetna applications in if you want 2010 rates. Cigna has specified 10pm MST as the deadline. For the online applications, click through to the post for the links[...]

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