[…] I looked at premiums for $5,000 deductible HSA qualified policies from Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield, Aetna, Assurant, Cigna, Humana, and United HealthOne. If lawmakers disallow the use of gender to determine individual health insurance premiums in Colorado, younger women and older men will have lower premiums, while younger men and older women will have higher premiums. There won’t be any actual benefit to the overall population – health insurance premiums will just be averaged for men and women.
HSA
The Real Price Of Brand Name Prescription Meds
[…] If a rep presents a new med to a doctor, mentions that it’s a whiz-bang drug, and brushes the cost off by saying something like “it’s a brand name drug, but the copays on brand names are usually only about 20 bucks more than generics” the fact that the drug actually costs more per month than most car payments will probably not factor into the doctor’s prescribing decisions. […]
Different Perspectives
[…] Sometimes we need to be reminded that not everyone is aware of the actual cost of health insurance or health care. To us, reform that lowers costs across the board is a very important issue. But with such huge discrepancies in what people are paying for their health insurance, we’re not even in the same book yet, say nothing of on the same page.
Non-Profit Does Not Necessarily Mean Low Cost
I recently posted an article on the Colorado Health Insurance Insider about my views on making Medicare available as an opt-in option for Americans younger than 65. I got a comment on the article that I thought brought up some good points and wanted to expand on some of the ideas. The reader pointed out that a good number of private health insurance plans are non-profit […]
Your Health Insurance Company Prefers Generics
[…] But even if you have coverage for brand name prescriptions on your policy, asking for a generic will likely save you money. And it will save your health insurance company money. They are well aware of that fact, and apparently employ a lot more tactics than most of of realize to get doctors to prescribe generics and patients to request them. […]
Lowering Our Health Insurance Premiums
[…] We did the same math that we always encourage our clients to do when considering various deductible levels. Our current health insurance policy has a $3,000 deductible, and costs $498/month. We found an option with a $5,000 deductible for $341/month. Switching to the $5000 deductible saves $1,884/year in premiums. […]
The Art And Science Of Choosing Providers
[…] Provider quality rankings are a piece of the puzzle for sure, but they’re not the only piece. I do think they will get more popular if health insurance carriers start actively encouraging patients to select from among the highest ranking providers. But there are other factors that go into choosing a provider that can’t be quantified on a spreadsheet or a graph.
Health Care Sticker Shock
Individual deductibles on employer-sponsored health insurance polices rose to $1000 this year, from $500 in 2007. If you buy your own health insurance, this probably seems like a bargain. Our Colorado clients have hundreds of options for coverage, but $500 is the lowest deductible offered by most carriers; some don’t offer deductibles below $1000 […]
Who Americans Blame For Rising Health Care Costs
[…] I think this survey is interesting in that it shows the perceptions people hold with regards to the health care industry. But I think it’s also indicative of the lack of transparency in health care pricing, and a lack of exposure to the actual costs of health care that occurs when most medical bills are funneled through the health insurance system.
Expanding Universal Health Coverage In America
[…] There’s a huge group of people with other serious illnesses who are having to struggle with not only their health condition but also with the status of their health insurance coverage. An expansion of Medicare to cover anyone with a chronic illness makes sense, and would eliminate some of the economic burden currently endured by those individuals.
Know the Numbers Behind Health Insurance Reform
[…] At the Colorado Health Insurance Insider, I’ve written about how employer-sponsored health insurance might not be the best set up. But while I see flaws in the group health insurance system, I’ve don’t believe a switch to individual health insurance would be prudent without making major changes to how individual health insurance is set up.
What To Look For When You Choose A Health Insurance Policy
John Martie, President of Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield in Colorado, has written an article with pointers consumers can use when choosing a health insurance policy. His article focuses on group coverage, but I think his advice is just as pertinent for people searching for their own health insurance in the individual market. […]
Health Insurance And The Free Market
For Colorado residents who are unable to afford a private policy, or unable to qualify at any price, we need a safety net funded with tax dollars. For essential commodities, I don’t believe that having a government back up system signifies the downfall of the free market – it just guarantees a service that isn’t adequately provided in a fully market-driven system. […]
Health Insurance Tax Credit Does Not Solve The Problem
[…] In order for health care reform to work, it has to work for everyone. We need a solution that spreads the cost of health care evenly across the entire population (adjusted for income, just as taxes are) and doesn’t leave large groups (like people with pre-existing conditions) to fend for themselves with no good health insurance options available.
The Cost Of Individual Health Insurance In Colorado
[…] Of course Colorado – like most states – uses medical underwriting on individual health insurance policies. And if underwriting were no longer allowed on Colorado policies, we could very well see the average family premium exceed $700/month. But for now, $5000 goes a long way towards paying for a health insurance policy in Colorado. […]
Taxes And Health Care
I like a system that rewards people who put aside money to pay for medical bills. We encourage our clients in Colorado to apply for high deductible health insurance and set up HSAs if they are able to do so. But tax breaks for health care shouldn’t be limited to those who have the means to fund an HSA, or to people with very high medical bills relative to their income. […]
Health Wonk Review at Health Business Blog
The Health Wonk Review is up at Health Business Blog. The Health Care Blog has an astute commentary on the state of the nation and how lobbying by special interest groups basically eliminates the possibility for meaningful reform in health care and a range of other issues. There’s a great graphic about obesity around the… Read more about Health Wonk Review at Health Business Blog
Demand For Health Care Decreasing
We’re noticing more and more of our Colorado clients requesting high deductible health insurance policies, with prescriptions covered only once the deductible is met. Does this mean that they are more likely to pass on meds? Probably it means that they’ll think twice before going to the doctor or filling a prescription. When an employer sponsored health insurance policy is paying for […]
Insureds With HSAs Dropping Meds
So while it would be nice to think that everyone who gets an HDHP is also setting up an HSA, funding it little by little until the account has enough money stashed away to cover the deductible, and then shopping around diligently for health care and avoiding unnecessary treatment – the reality is a bit different. Many of our Colorado clients who enroll in an HDHP do not set up an HSA […]
Number Of Underinsureds Rising Rapidly
While an employee at a big company might consider $500 to be a high deductible, the majority of our individual health insurance clients in Colorado choose deductibles between $2000 and $5000, in order to keep the premiums down. That same employee at the big company may only be paying a few dollars a week for health insurance (with the employer paying […]
High Deductible Health Plans Are Popular In Colorado
A study conducted by America’s Health Insurance Plans (AHIP) shows that Colorado ranks fifth in the nation for health savings account and high deductible health plan membership as a percentage of the state’s total private health insurance population […]
HR5719 Could Get The Presidential Axe
HR5719 is facing a potential veto from the White House because of the HSA limitations proposed in the bill. At the Colorado Health Insurance Insider, we feel that the proposal in HR5719 to require that HSA participants provide proof of medical expenses would bog down the relative simplicity that HSAs currently provide. Evolution Benefits, the… Read more about HR5719 Could Get The Presidential Axe
Surprise Medical Bill from Out-of-Network DME Provider
We got a bill last week for $397 from the company that provided Jay’s crutches, knee brace, and ice machine when he had knee surgery in January. The surgery was done at the Vail Valley Medical Center in Vail, Colorado, by Dr. Steadman; both the hospital and the doctor are on our Humana PPO network…. Read more about Surprise Medical Bill from Out-of-Network DME Provider
Evolution Benefits Withdraws Support for HR5719
In a follow-up to our article on Wednesday, Evolution Benefits has sent a letter to Congress asking the House Ways and Means Committee to withdraw their proposal. View the Evolution Benefits letter
Bureaucracy Wielding Its Sword Over The HSA
The House Ways and Means Committee met today to discuss HR 5719 – the “Taxpayer Assistance and Simplification Act of 2008” (I love when they come up with names like that – it sounds like the whole thing will be warm and fuzzy and make life easier for all of us). One of the many… Read more about Bureaucracy Wielding Its Sword Over The HSA