Colorado Health Insurance Insider

Prescription Drug Reuse And Disposal Programs In Colorado

Louise — Tue, 15 May 2012 17:21:16 +0000

New post titled Prescription Drug Reuse And Disposal Programs In Colorado at Colorado Health Insurance Insider

Four years ago, we wrote an article about recycling prescription drugs to be used by patients who don't have health insurance or cannot afford their medications. This has remained a popular post on our blog, and people frequently search our site for information about prescription recycling and/or disposal programs in Colorado. So I wanted to write an updated post with information that we've come across in the years since we published that first article. [...]

Visit for further reading: Colorado Health Insurance Insider - Research and discussion of the Colorado health insurance industry and the healthcare system in America.

Anthem Introduces New Accident And Critical Illness Benefits In Colorado

Jay — Mon, 14 May 2012 21:31:13 +0000

New post titled Anthem Introduces New Accident And Critical Illness Benefits In Colorado at Colorado Health Insurance Insider

[...] For individuals and families who are healthy and rarely need their health insurance benefits, an accident may be their primary concern. Obviously we're all susceptible to illness aswell, but accidents have a more "out of the blue" quality to them, and can happen to even the healthiest of people. We've never needed our health insurance due to illness, but we've had a few injuries over the years that have been pretty costly. Stitches and x-rays on our son's finger alone came to $1,400. The charges can add up quickly when you're in an emergency room, and if you have a high deductible health insurance policy, you'd be responsible for the entire bill for an incident like that. An accident supplement that will cover all or a portion of the deductible can help people feel more at ease with a high deductible (ie, less expensive) health insurance policy. The accident supplement portion of Balance will coordinate with your health insurance, so it will pay you either your out-of-pocket amount or the Balance benefit maximum, which ever is lower. For example, if your out-of-pocket expenses for an accident - after health insurance has paid its portion - come to $1750 and you have the $2500 benefit Balance plan, you'll get $1750 in supplemental coverage. But if your out-of-pocket expenses come to $4500, you'll get the full $2500. The critical illness benefit is a lump-sum payment, but the amount paid depends on the specific diagnosis. With the introduction of Balance, Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield has added another solid plan to the options available for individuals and families in Colorado who are looking for an accident and critical illness supplement to go along with their health insurance policy.

Visit for further reading: Colorado Health Insurance Insider - Research and discussion of the Colorado health insurance industry and the healthcare system in America.

Taxes And Individual Health Insurance

Louise — Fri, 11 May 2012 18:04:03 +0000

New post titled Taxes And Individual Health Insurance at Colorado Health Insurance Insider

[...] Greg's most recent article deals with the way that our tax code treats health insurance premiums. Medicare and Medicaid premiums are obviously subsidized by tax dollars. But group health insurance premiums are also subsidized, since the premiums that employers pay on behalf of their employees are not included in the employee's taxable income. People with individual health insurance usually don't get such a benefit. The self-employed get to deduct individual health insurance premiums on the 1040, but there are plenty of people who purchase individual health insurance and are not self-employed. Early retirees are a good example, as are people who buy their own health insurance because their employer does not provide it. Greg's article goes beyond what we usually see on this topic (ie, pointing out the inherent unfairness of not allowing similar tax treatment for all health insurance premiums, regardless of whether the coverage is group or individual). He delves into what the possible implications could be for the individual health insurance market if the tax code were changed to a more equitable system. His prediction includes millions of additional people entering the individual market (thanks to a switch from group to individual coverage), more lenient underwriting standards in the individual market, more innovative products available to consumers, and more competition in the individual market. Check out his article for all the details - definitely some good food for thought.

Visit for further reading: Colorado Health Insurance Insider - Research and discussion of the Colorado health insurance industry and the healthcare system in America.

Wild Wild West of Electronic Medical Records

Jay — Wed, 09 May 2012 20:13:41 +0000

New post titled Wild Wild West of Electronic Medical Records at Colorado Health Insurance Insider

This article was sent to us through our contact form from "Sandra" as an entry is our open mic/guest blogger category. Sandra is not a client of ours, but says she found our guest blogger category while researching her situation and would like her opinions published. We kept Sandra's requested title for the post and left the content nearly verbatim. We only removed her last name and the name of the health insurance carrier from the original submission for privacy.

My on-line pharmacy list has had medications removed; medications added back, medications that never appeared again. The one that was requested to be removed is now gone from my on-line pharmacy list. I didn’t need to ask the HIPPA Specialist at all, I just needed to wait for the software department to delete it.

I currently have prescription errors on my on-line medication list that I have not been able to get corrected, even after repeated requests. I’ve thrown away $600+ of insulin delivered overheated due to an error in the prescription process. I’m currently asking endocrinology to correct the insulin prescription, and have had no response and an appointment cancelled. I have asked multiple times to correct errors in my prescribing information online, on the after visit paperwork, and on the drug bottles. I recently asked to have Glipizide description on the bottle corrected. At what point will these errors harm me?

I’ve asked for drug package inserts and couldn’t get them, so I checked their online drug database, and it was 2011. I was looking for the current updates on Statin. They just updated their drug database to 2012, but it still means that my Statin drug changes may not appear until 2013? Why can’t I get package inserts or more current drug data?

I’ll ask member services, and they’ll consider my request a grievance, and will send me a generic/form letter saying they will investigate. I won’t know what they are investigating. I’ll get a customer service liaison calling me, sharing that I don’t understand their review process, and blaming the primary physician for not fixing everything. I’ll explain to the liaison, that I did try to contact my primary, and was told, “I’m a busy internal medicine doctor.” In e-mailing the on-line pharmacy they tell me that they are in CA and they’ll can’t do anything for Colorado, and they’ll forward my grievance to Colorado Customer Service. I’ll never hear back. I’ll contact the Colorado on-line pharmacy, and they help me replace the insulin, but then they stop talking to me.

Hum… they must have looked at my medical records, and today my Endocrinology appointment was cancelled.

Sincerely, Sandra

Visit for further reading: Colorado Health Insurance Insider - Research and discussion of the Colorado health insurance industry and the healthcare system in America.

The Best Health Insurance Companies In Colorado

Jay — Mon, 07 May 2012 18:35:16 +0000

New post titled The Best Health Insurance Companies In Colorado at Colorado Health Insurance Insider

[...] To make a long story short, although US News & World Report is a respected publication and website, this particular page seems to be mostly about affiliate marketing. The information provided is not technically incorrect, but it's lacking in context and is obviously confusing, especially if people aren't aware of the multiple names used by carriers or the fact that not all carriers provide policies in both the individual and group market. In addition, while the page does state that the ranking is simply based on market share, that information might be overlooked by some readers, especially if they found the page by searching for "the best health insurance companies in Colorado". Consumers who are looking for ways to compare the various health insurance companies in Colorado will no doubt be concerned with market share, since more market share is often associated with a stronger, more stable company (although Aetna was highly ranked in terms of overall market share when they pulled out of the individual market in Colorado, so there are never any guarantees). But there are plenty of other factors to consider. You can search our website for more information about carriers, like complaint ratios, and the Colorado Division of Insurance has an excellent health insurance information site that you can use to compare carriers.

Visit for further reading: Colorado Health Insurance Insider - Research and discussion of the Colorado health insurance industry and the healthcare system in America.

Kaiser Will Soon Be Available In Northern Colorado

Jay — Fri, 04 May 2012 23:58:06 +0000

New post titled Kaiser Will Soon Be Available In Northern Colorado at Colorado Health Insurance Insider

[...] The new Kaiser facilities will be in Fort Collins at Harmony and Ziegler, and in Loveland at I-25 and Hwy 34. For hospital services, Kaiser is partnering with Banner Health and members will be able to use McKee Medical Center in Loveland and North Colorado Medical Center in Greeley. The medical offices in Fort Collins and Loveland will offer a wide range of services (primary care, lab work, pharmacy, and x-rays, and mammograms will be available at the Loveland office), and are expected to begin providing care by the fall of 2012. A medical office is projected to open in Greeley by 2014. Between now and then however, northern Colorado Kaiser members will be able to see doctors at the Fort Collins and Loveland offices, as well as physicians on the Banner Health network. Kaiser is planning to offer group coverage to employers in northern Colorado by October 1, 2012. Individual and family coverage should be available sometime next year.

Visit for further reading: Colorado Health Insurance Insider - Research and discussion of the Colorado health insurance industry and the healthcare system in America.

IRS 2013 HSA Contribution Limits

Jay — Fri, 04 May 2012 17:27:58 +0000

New post titled IRS 2013 HSA Contribution Limits at Colorado Health Insurance Insider

The IRS announced that the 2013 HSA contribution limit for an individual would increase by $150, from $3,100 to $3,250. The family contribution limit is increasing from $6,250 to $6,450 (+$200). The maximum annual out-of-pocket increased as well. The individual out of pocket maximum is going from $6,050 to $6,250. The family out of pocket maximum is increasing from $12,100 to $12,500. The minimum deductible on an HSA qualified plan also increases from $1,200 to $1,250 for individuals and increases from $2,400 to $2,500 for families. What are the 2012 HSA Contribution Limits? According to the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, OTC drugs may be reimbursed only if there is a prescription. Non-medical withdrawals from an HSA are taxable income and subject to a tax penalty, which increased from 10% in 2010 to 20% in 2011 and remains the same for 2013. Exception to the IRS tax penalty for non-medical withdrawals: The tax penalty does not apply if the withdrawal is made after you: 1) Attain age 65; 2) Become totally and permanently disabled; or 3) Die. More details and research about HSAs and HSA qualified plans.

Visit for further reading: Colorado Health Insurance Insider - Research and discussion of the Colorado health insurance industry and the healthcare system in America.

Too Big To Fail?

Louise — Thu, 03 May 2012 21:18:21 +0000

New post titled Too Big To Fail? at Colorado Health Insurance Insider

[...] Given the large market share that some hospital systems and health insurance carriers have in other states, I wonder if those organizations might already be "too big to fail", even before ACOs come into the picture? Would the financial collapse of one of those systems be too much of a destabilizing factor and require a government bailout in order to protect the communities served by the healthcare organizations? So far, we haven't seen such a scenario. In general, when a healthcare organization leaves the market, it is bought out by another organization that is more financially sound (for example, Celtic agreed to take over World and American Republic's insureds last year when those companies left the market). This happens quite often with hospitals and small-ish health insurance carriers. But the titans of the financial industry that had to be bailed out in 2008 were not the "small-ish" banks - they were huge organizations that everyone thought were very sound. If something like that were to happen to healthcare organizations - either insurers or large hospital systems - would a bailout be necessary in order to stabilize the healthcare system? I assume that ACOs are being crafted with a bit more care and transparency than what went into CDOs. And hopefully the lessons learned in the financial markets crisis will be well-remembered as healthcare market overhauls are created.

Visit for further reading: Colorado Health Insurance Insider - Research and discussion of the Colorado health insurance industry and the healthcare system in America.

Details From Anthem On Preventive Care And Contraceptive Coverage

Louise — Wed, 02 May 2012 04:34:29 +0000

New post titled Details From Anthem On Preventive Care And Contraceptive Coverage at Colorado Health Insurance Insider

Last week we added a post about contraceptive coverage under the PPACA and what changes people could expect to see starting in August. We just received an information sheet regarding this subject from Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield, and wanted to share it with our readers. It will be useful for our Anthem clients, and is also helpful to give people a rough idea of how the contraceptive coverage will be implemented by most carriers. There may be some small variations from one carrier to another, but in most cases things will be similar across the board, since federal legislation is guiding the changes. The Anthem preventive care info sheet is relevant in Colorado and nine other states where Anthem operates Blue Cross Blue Shield plans, and applies to individual health insurance as well as small and large group plans. The Anthem info sheet specifically notes that sterilization procedures for men are not included in the new contraceptive coverage - which is the conclusion I came to last week after quite a bit of reading on the subject - since all of the guidelines apply to adding contraceptive coverage to preventive care for women rather than preventive care in general. [...]

Visit for further reading: Colorado Health Insurance Insider - Research and discussion of the Colorado health insurance industry and the healthcare system in America.

Contraceptive Coverage And The PPACA

Louise — Fri, 27 Apr 2012 19:09:59 +0000

New post titled Contraceptive Coverage And The PPACA at Colorado Health Insurance Insider

[...] Anyway, assuming that we're talking about contraceptives for women, new health insurance policies - except those that are exempt based on religious reasons - will cover contraception with no copays or deductibles. Non-grandfathered plans (grandfathered means that the policy was in effect prior to the PPACA being signed into law and that the plan has not made any significant changes since then) will have to start covering contraceptives as of each plan's renewal date. This is similar to how the state maternity mandate worked in Colorado last year. New policies had to start covering maternity on January 1, 2011. But existing policies added it throughout the year as each plan renewed (for example, my family's health insurance plan renews each year in November, so our maternity coverage didn't begin until November 2011). This brief from the Kaiser Family Foundation website has a lot of good information regarding contraceptive coverage and should help to clarify the issue a bit. [...]

Visit for further reading: Colorado Health Insurance Insider - Research and discussion of the Colorado health insurance industry and the healthcare system in America.