Insurance Advisors Home Page | Health Care Insurance Information

Colorado lawmakers passed about 50 bills dealing with healthcare this year.  We have posted some information on a couple of them (see below).  Some of the bills add additional regulations for insurance companies in Colorado which could cause additional administrative costs for the providers and the insurers.  These bills are intended to make health care more readily available to people and promote consumer protection in the insurance industry.  Democrats & Republicans are at odds as to whether or not these bills will actually improve coverage options and healthcare for the average consumer. 

… if the Colorado House Democrats have anything to say about it.  In May of 2008 House Bill 1407, the Insurance Accountability Act of 2008, was passed.  The Bill is aimed at strengthening penalties for the unreasonable conduct of an insurance carrier, and making appropriation in connection with that. 

Consumers can expect this bill to give Colorado’s Commissioner’s office increased ability to deter unreasonable conduct by a Colorado insurer, help consumers recover their damages, and clarifies the definition of resitution.  The Commissioner’s office can charge an insurance company a $3,000 minimum fine for any violation of any law, rule, or prior lawful order regarding these issues - and up to $30,000 maximum fine.

Providing Coloradans with fair and accessible insurance coverage is the goal of this FAIR Act (Fair Accountable Insurance Rates) presented by the Colorado Democratic House of Representatives.  The Bill passed into Act in early June 2008 and will become effective on January 1, 2009.  The Act is designed to make insurance carriers and companies accountable for rate changes - the most significant piece of this is that ALL insurance companies must submit any rate increases to the Colorado Commissioner 60 days prior to the rate change effective date.  Any insurance company doing business in CO must fulfill the Commissioner’s requirements for a proposed rate increase:

• benefits provided must be reasonable in relation to the premiums charged;
• the rate increase must not be unjust, unfair, inequitable, discriminatory, excessive, or inadequate;
• claims experience and data must justify the increase; OR
• filing must be complete.

Also included are reports to the Commissioner regarding certain cost changes (since previous rate filings) due to catastrophic loss, medical costs and commissions.  The insurance company providing coverage in CO must explain all of these issues to the Commissioner who makes the information public by posting it on their website. 

WHAT does this mean to you, the consumer?  Insurance companies will be deterred from “knee-jerk” reactions based on losses & profitability, consumer’s can simply go to http://www.dora.state.co.us/Insurance/ to view any proposed rate increases for their type of plan/policy and insurance company. 

The Library of Science published a study to compare spending priorities for health care across a selection of predominantly middle-income countries, based on the opinions of current and future decision makers. Using an opinion poll questionnaire, 253 health professionals from six countries were surveyed, asking them to rank ten health interventions in order of priority for spending from most important (rank 1) to least important (rank 10). The questionnaire was based on a short questionnaire on priorities for health-care spending developed by Groves.Median Rankings of Health-Care Spending Priorities Across All Countries, in Order of Importance

1. Childhood immunisation
2. Anti-smoking education for children
3. GP care for everyday illness
4. Screening for breast cancer
5. Intensive care for neonates
6. Support for carers of the elderly
7. Treatment for people with schizophrenia
8. Hip replacement
9. Heart transplant
10. Cancer treatment for smokers

What is interesting in this list is that a new study released in Health Affairs found that out of 19 industrialized nations, the U.S. ranked LAST in preventable deaths. 

Seems to be at odds.

We have just posted a page that gives you some basic information on shopping for family health insurance plans. Especially if you’re not that familiar with the insurance shopping routine, our new page is a great starting point.

Click here to go there now.

For those of you just looking into insurance that can supplement your Medicare coverage, you might want to take a look at our introductory page. Either click on the link at the top, or click here for more information on Medicare Supplementary Insurance.

If you’re interested in shopping for product options, please feel free to browse our selection of Medicare insurance options.