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Colorado Health Insurance Insider

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health insurance exchange

Health Insurance Exchange Payroll and Admin Expenses

October 20, 2011 By Louise Norris

[…] One of the comments on the post was from Dede de Percin, the Executive Director of the Colorado Consumer Health Initiative (CCHI). […] Dede’s comment on my article referenced the point I made about consumers not having to pay additional fees to have a broker. Basically, health insurance is priced the same whether you go directly through a health insurance carrier (calling Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield directly, for example) or through a broker (who will compare options from multiple carriers for you). Dede made this point:
“While a consumer or business doesn’t not pay a health insurance broker directly, broker fees and commissions are paid by the insurance companies – and rolled into […]”

Filed Under: Anthem Blue Cross, Cigna, Colorado Division Of Insurance, Health Care Reform, Health Insurance Exchanges, Health Insurance Reform, Individual/Family Health, Insurance Companies

Colorado Legislators Delay Health Benefits Exchange Grant Application

September 28, 2011 By Louise Norris

[…] That issue again appears to be a sticking point, with Colorado House Republicans blocking the health insurance exchange board from applying for a $22 million grant because the application mentioned changing Colorado regulations to “conform to federal requirements”. The grant application is due at HHS on Friday, and the exchange board will not be able to meet that deadline. They are hoping, however, to address the legislator’s concerns and be able to get the application submitted by the end of the year, to be considered in the second round of funding. […]

Filed Under: Health Insurance Exchanges, Health Insurance Reform

Colorado Health Insurance Exchange Board Hires Attorney General’s Office

September 27, 2011 By Louise Norris

[…] I’m confident that the Colorado Attorney General’s office will be able to provide competent legal advice to the exchange board. In addition, it appears that the board is getting an excellent value, since they’ll be paying less than $79/hour for a lawyer. But I assume that John Suthers is hoping to prevail in the lawsuit challenging the individual mandate, and I am a bit skeptical about whether the rest of the ACA (including the health insurance exchanges) could survive without the individual mandate.

Filed Under: Health Insurance Exchanges, Health Insurance Reform

Negotiating Premiums Doesn’t Lower The Cost Of Healthcare

September 14, 2011 By Louise Norris

[…] How would it help to have health insurance exchange boards negotiating with health insurance carriers to try to lower premiums – without addressing the root problem, which is the ever-increasing cost of healthcare? […] Much of the focus of the healthcare reform rhetoric has been on health insurance (availability, premiums, etc.), and some important issues have been addressed in the process. But we cannot continue to focus primarily on the cost of health insurance (or try to artificially lower it) without reducing the cost of healthcare.

Filed Under: Health Care Reform, Health Insurance Exchanges, Health Insurance Reform, HSA, Providers

Balancing Interests In The Colorado Health Insurance Exchange

August 24, 2011 By Louise Norris

[…] The Colorado exchange has received some early criticism based on the make-up of the board, as several board members have ties – direct and indirect – to the health insurance industry. I’ve noted that my own opinion is that it would tough to implement a successful exchange without the knowledge of the health insurance industry that those board members bring to the table. But I think that the board’s election of Hammer to lead them does help to balance things out and make sure that the consumer voice is heard alongside that of the health insurance industry. […]

Filed Under: Anthem Blue Cross, Health Care Reform, Health Insurance Exchanges

Seeking Certainty

August 19, 2011 By Louise Norris

[…] And finally, if the Supreme Court is going to hand down a ruling like the one we got from the Appeals Court last week, we need to know that as soon as possible too. If the individual mandate does indeed end up being tossed out, the health care reform law will need an awful lot of compromises and revisions in order to make it tenable. Perhaps I’m being overly pessimistic, but given the level of compromise we’ve seen from the political system over the last decade or so, I have a hard time seeing how the PPACA could go on with one of its major provisions deleted. […]

Filed Under: Health Care Reform, Health Insurance Reform, Individual/Family Health, Insurance Companies

Health Care Reform In The 2011 Colorado Legislative Session

May 23, 2011 By Louise Norris

The Colorado legislative session that wrapped up this month was a busy one for Colorado-specific health care reform. Despite a few bumps in the road, SB200 passed, which means that Colorado is now on its way to creating a health insurance exchange that will address the particular needs of individuals and small businesses in the state. Although this bill was controversial simply because the whole idea of exchanges is too closely tied with the PPACA […]

Filed Under: Health Care Goodies, Health Care Reform, Health Insurance Reform

SB200 Advances In the Colorado Senate

April 20, 2011 By Louise Norris

[…] Regardless of whether you support the federal healthcare reform laws, it’s hard to see how it would be better for Colorado to forgo creating a state-specific exchange. Doing so would mean that Colorado would have to participate in a federally-run exchange instead, and obviously such a program is not going to be geared to the specific needs of the people and businesses in Colorado. So although there are still likely to be plenty of legal battles over the Constitutionality and implementation of the federal healthcare reform law, it makes sense for states to move ahead in creating their own exchanges.

Filed Under: Health Care Reform

Senate Bill 200 Begins The Process Of Creating Colorado Exchange

March 25, 2011 By Louise Norris

[…] Senate Bill 200 (the Colorado Health Benefit Exchange Act), co-sponsored by Senator Betty Boyd (D – Lakewood) gets the ball rolling on the health insurance exchange that the state will have to have in place by 2014. Specifically, the bill would create a “nonprofit unincorporated public entity known as the Health Benefit Exchange”. It includes guidelines for the appointment of a 12-member board of directors (9 of whom will be voting members) who will oversee the exchange, and lays out their responsibilities. […]

Filed Under: Colorado Division Of Insurance, Group Health, Health Care Reform, Health Insurance Reform, Individual/Family Health

Three Years To Iron Out Details For Health Insurance Exchange

January 1, 2011 By Louise Norris

For anyone curious about the logistics that will go into setting up the new health insurance exchanges that will become active in 2014, this Denver Post article is an excellent overview. The article notes that the 2011 legislature will have to pass a bill to set up basic guidelines for the exchange, and a governing structure to oversee the process. There will be monthly committee meetings to hash out the details, and once you start to ponder all of the questions that still remain unanswered, it’s clear why it might take a few years to get the exchange up and running. […]

Filed Under: Health Care Goodies, Health Insurance Reform

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