January 2011

Peace Of Mind With Automated Payment Of Health Insurance Premiums

by Louise January 31, 2011

[...] If you sign up for automated payments, there’s nothing to remember. You don’t have to worry about your health insurance lapsing because a bill didn’t arrive, or because you forgot to send in a check. You don’t have to worry about making a typo or accidentally sending an underpayment. And in a lot of cases it’s less expensive to have automated payments set up too – some carriers charge an additional fee if you opt to receive a bill and mail a check for your premium.

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Aetna Withdrawing from Colorado Individual Health Insurance Market

by Jay January 28, 2011

Aetna no longer offers health insurance plans for individuals, families and the self employed plans in Colorado.  Their explanation: After reviewing our portfolio of Individual health insurance plans in Colorado, we determined we can no longer meet the needs of our customers while remaining competitive in the individual health insurance market. While this decision was not [...]

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Consumer Protections And The PPACA

by Louise January 27, 2011

I doubt that regulators will simply throw out the existing rules and allow ACOs to operate without consumer protections to place to guard against fraud and abuse. Instead, I see them coming up with new regulations that take into account the changing landscape of health care delivery, including ACOs. But either way, the creation of new consumer protections while suspending others does make for an interesting discussion. [...]

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Is Colorado Representative’s Information Based On Email FWD?

by Louise January 26, 2011

Last week, the House of Representatives voted to repeal the PPACA. One of the Representatives voting for repeal was Scott Tipton, a Republican from Colorado’s 3rd congressional district. Obviously each Representative had to vote according to his or her own conscience and the general consensus from constituents, but one would also hope that prior to voting, each Representative would clearly understand the facts surrounding the various issues within the law. [...]

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Colorado Senator Introducing Legislation To Study Health Care

by Louise January 24, 2011

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. [...]

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Comparing US Healthcare Costs With Other Countries

by Louise January 21, 2011

[...] But is having to wait to see a specialist for a non-emergency situation really that much of a drawback, when we consider that this sort of “rationing” might be what we need to bring our healthcare costs down to a reasonable level (and thus make healthcare more available to more Americans)? Maybe we don’t need MRI machines to be as conveniently-located as ATMs… Our current costs (and the rate at which they are increasing) aren’t really sustainable long-term, and the Healthcare Technology News article is a good reminder of how we stack up against the rest of the world.

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Removing HSA Contribution Cap Does Not Solve Any Health Care Problems

by Louise January 20, 2011

[...] People who already max out their HSA contributions and still have money left over to contribute more would likely appreciate the removal of the HSA contribution cap. But those are not the people who are struggling to afford health insurance or pay for medical care. They are not the people our elected representatives should be focusing on when coming up with solutions for health care reform. Although I like our HSA and the flexibility it gives us to save for future medical expenses, I acknowledge that HSAs are not a panacea for what ails our health care system. [...]

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An Honest Look At End Of Life Care

by Louise January 19, 2011

[...] But Amy’s story is particularly important when we look at end-of-life scenarios, where doctors and hospitals will often take the approach of sustaining life at all costs, simply because it’s what we’re used to. I’m not advocating the rationing of health care in people who are terminally ill; patients should be given choices regardless of their prognosis. But honest discussions about end-of-life care and a genuine focus on quality of life might help to not only make life better for patients facing terminal illnesses, they could also result in lower health care costs.

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Colorado House Bill 1025 Would Repeal Health Care Affordability Act

by Louise January 18, 2011

[...] HB 1025, introduced by Colorado Springs Republican Rep Janak Joshi, would repeal the Health Care Affordability Act of 2009 (HB 1293). That Act introduced the Hospital Provider Fee system to generate about $600 million annually in funds for the expansion of Medicaid, the Colorado Indigent Care Program (CICP) and Child Health Plan Plus (CHP+). Those funds are supplemented with federal matching of an additional $600 million for the expansion of those programs in Colorado. The Health Care Affordability Act was widely supported by hospital and medical groups in the state. [...]

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