NEW!
Business Health Forum on
Engaged
Public is a new site for Coloradans to learn about issues facing the
state, participate in crafting solutions and inform policy makers about
what they care about.
On this site you can:
- Participate in a forum on the business community's views on health care.
- Download presentations the BHF has given, including keypad polling results.
- Read our newsletter.
Click "Join" in the upper right-hand corner, and then find the Business Health Forum site under "Engagements."
The
business community has a vital role to play in the heatlh reform
debate. This is another way to learn about key issues and share your
views.
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The
Business Health Forum is funded by The Colorado Health Foundation and
supported by the Colo. Assocation of Commerce and Industry Educational
Foundation.
Stay tuned for info. about upcoming business health care forums in your community.
To learn more about the Forum, contact Amy Fletcher at afletcher@bizhealthforum.org or call 303-866-9659.
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Dear Amy,
As
health insurance premiums continue to soar and Colorado examines
wide-scale health care reform, there has never been a more important
time for the business community to engage in the debate. The Forum is a
new project to help you connect the dots and weigh in on solutions.
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Insurance bills advance as Legislature ends 
Legislation requiring Colorado health insurers to get state approval
before raising premium rates cleared a Senate committee Tuesday after
major insurers dropped their opposition to the bill.
Accroding to
the Denver Post, the measure, sponsored by Rep. Morgan Carroll,
D-Aurora, would require insurers to submit proposed rate increases to
the state Division of Insurance for approval. Insurance regulators
could deny rate increases deemed unreasonable or unjustified by a
company's financial situation.
The bill is one of several bills
lawmakers are still debating that propose fundamental changes in the
state's insurance market. The Legislature is scheduled to adjourn May
7, but could end earlier.
Other measures include Senate Bill 217,
which would gather information about low-cost health plans the state
would promote, with the hope of covering more uninsured; House Bill
1407, which would increase penalties for insurers that "unreasonably"
deny claims; and House Bill 1410, which would require insurers to cover
more colorectal cancer screening tests. For more information: Denver Business Journal
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Top health care news
New study: workers' health insurance costs soar
If
gas and milk price hikes seem steep, check out health insurance
premiums. They have increased 10 times faster than incomes in recent
years, a study shows.
Workers with job-based coverage for their
families saw earnings rise 3% from 2001 to 2005, while their health
insurance premium contribution increased 30%, according to the study by
researchers at the State Health Access Data Assistance Center at the
University of Minnesota. The average cost nationally of family coverage
during the period increased nearly $2,500, to $10,728 from $8,281.
"Providing insurance coverage takes a bigger bite from the family
budget every year," said Risa Lavizzo-Mourey, chief executive of the
Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, which helped fund the research.
Mohit Ghose, a spokesman for America's Health Insurance Plans, the
trade group representing the insurance companies, said the study showed
the need for controls on the rising costs of drugs, medical devices and
hospital care. Los Angeles Times
State Senate backs bill promoting med coverage in auto plans
Colorado drivers would be nudged into buying medical coverage on their
car insurance policies under a proposal backed by the Senate on Tuesday.
Under
Senate Bill 11, insurance companies would have to include $5,000 in
medical coverage in policies starting next year. Customers could reject
the coverage but, if they don't object, the coverage would remain in
the policy.
The bill's aim is to help support a trauma system
that sponsor Sen. John Morse, D-Colorado Springs, said has been
"fraying" because of Colorado's tort car insurance system, in which the
at-fault party pays for damage and injuries from car accidents.
The insurance industry has fought periodic attempts to require more
coverage since Colorado switched to the tort system, saying it would
increase costs. But Carole Walker, executive director of the Rocky
Mountain Insurance Information Association, said that Morse's amended
bill at least gives consumers the chance to opt out. Associated Press
Federal money in health care plan from Sen. John McCain
Republican Sen. John McCain detailed his plan to solve the nation's
health care crisis in a speech Tuesday, calling for the federal
government to give some money to states to help them cover people with
illnesses who have been denied health insurance.
McCain will discuss health care at a town hall meeting Friday in Denver.
McCain's plan would shift the emphasis from insurance provided by
employers to insurance bought by individuals, to foster competition and
drive down prices. His proposal to move away from employer-based
coverage was similar to one that President Bush pushed for last year,
to little effect.
And his call for expanding coverage through
market-based competition is in stark contrast to the Democrats'
proposals to move toward universal health care coverage, with
government subsidies to help lower-income people afford their premiums.
New York Times
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