Health Insurance Info for Colorado

news & commentary on health insurance and benefits

Obamacare and Colorado health insurance premiums

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An excellent article posted at Patient Power, the health care policy blog at The Independence Institute. The Colorado Division of Insurance is claiming that, for small group policies in 2010, premiums will climb an additional 5% due to the effects of new Federal requirements, while individual plans will climb up to 7.8%.

Update: mandatory maternity forces insurer to withdraw policies Jan. 1

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United HealthOne/Golden Rule, in an email release today, announced a temporary exit from the Colorado individual insurance market due to House Bill 10-1021, CONCERNING REQUIRED COVERAGES FOR REPRODUCTIVE SERVICES FOR HEALTH INSURANCE POLICIES.

Beginning January 1st, 2011, all individual policies sold in Colorado must provide for maternity and reproductive services, same as any illness, except in cases of pre-existing condition.

“Following recent passage of legislation mandating unisex rating and maternity coverage, Golden Rule was required to file new plan designs with the Colorado Division of Insurance (DOI). In early 2011, we will again offer consumers in Colorado a wide range of affordable health plan choices.

As of December 31, 2010, the only UnitedHealthOne plan that will remain available in Colorado is personal Dental.”

The new law, codified under 10-16-104 (3) (a) (I), Colorado Revised Statutes, doesn’t specifically address whether in-force individual plans will be required to provide this coverage on 1 January, or if individual plans will be allowed to update their coverage requirements at time of policy renewal.

Calls to other carriers operating in Colorado elicit little if any additional information on the benefits required under the law, or how these new mandates will affect premiums, or if other carriers may be forced to follow suit with “temporary” disruptions of individual health insurance availability on 1 January.

Developing…

United HealthOne out of Colorado Jan. 1, 2011

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United HealthOne has dropped all individual policies for Colorado consumers effective January 1, 2011

Grandfathered-status rules amended by HHS

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Federal regulators have amended the grandfathered-status rule under the health care law known as Obamacare. Employers with insured group health plans can switch plans and carriers that provide similar coverage, but at lower cost, without losing their grandfathered status.

Under the original rules, group plans could lose their grandfathered status if the employer switched from one insurance carrier to another.  The original regulation only allowed self-funded plans to change third party administrators without losing grandfathered status; now, all groups health plans can change TPA’s or carriers and maintain their grandfathered status.

Average health insurance deductible in 2010: $1,200

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According to Mercer, the average deductible for popular PPO plans now stands at $1,200 annually for employers with 10 or more employees.

The Mercer survey also found that health benefit costs rose 6.9% this year – up from 5.5% in 2009.

Another trend noted in the study is that large employers were adopting high-deductible plans, linked to health savings accounts, more quickly than small employers. The reason? Lower costs – high deductible HSA plans are more than $2,000 a year less expensive per employee, including employer contributions to the savings account.

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