DC funds opposition to Colorado Amendment 63
The Colorado Secretary of State’s website reports that Colorado Deserves Better, the group opposing Amendment 63 received 90 percent of its $156,000 in funds from groups with addresses in Washington, DC. They include the National Education Association, the Service Employees International Union, the AFL-CIO, and the Ballot Initiative Strategy Center. The three Colorado groups in […]
Colorado insurers seek to raise premiums in response to ObamaCare
From the Denver Post: Some of the same insurers, meanwhile, have filed proposed rate increases with Colorado for individual policies, hiking premiums by up to 27 percent, regulators said. UnitedHealthcare has asked for an 8.3 percent increase in large-group plans, affecting 71,400 people; it also asked for 20.5 percent increases for 241 individuals. Aetna, in […]
Will Colorado “hammer” insurers into selling child-only policies at a loss?
Update to: CO insurers stop selling child-only policies – blame health control bill: “It’s strictly information-gathering, as far as I’m concerned — no hammers, no nails.” — State of Colorado Insurance Commissioner Marcy Morrison on her meeting with insurance companies about their decision to stop selling child-only policies because of insurance price controls. From the […]
Get Ready for Your Health Care ‘Re-Education’
Paul Hsieh, MD writes: … rather than acknowledging that their health care plan [Hr 3590] is fundamentally flawed, the Obama administration is trying to pretend that the problem is merely one of bad public relations. Hence, Secretary of Health and Human Services Kathleen Sebelius has stated that “we have a lot of re-education to do.” […]
ObamaCare: higher premiums, more Canadian-style rationing
From Reason.tv: Now that they’ve passed ObamaCare, can we see what’s in it? Sally Pipes, president and CEO of the Pacific Research Institute and author of The Truth About ObamaCare sits down with Ted Balaker to discuss what’s really on the way courtesy of the recent health care overhaul: higher costs, decreased access to care, […]
Sebelius to insurers: shut up or government shuts you out
The AP reports: President Barack Obama’s top health official on Thursday warned the insurance industry that the administration won’t tolerate blaming premium hikes on the new health overhaul law [HR 3590]. “There will be zero tolerance for this type of misinformation and unjustified rate increases,” Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius said in a […]
CO insurers stop selling child-only policies – blame health control bill
The Denver Business Journal reports: At least five Colorado insurers will stop selling new individual health insurance policies for children by Oct. 1 because of soon-to-be-enacted federal mandates [from HR 3590 – BTS] requiring them to cover all applicants under age 19, including those with pre-existing medical conditions. …this action by several major companies, including […]
Mandated medical loss ratios promote bad customer service
Arnold Kling points out how mandating a minimum medical loss ratio promotes poor customer service. Quoting Uwe Reinhart: The recently passed Affordable Care Act requires heath insurance issuers to use at least some minimum fraction of revenue from the premiums it receives on medical services. Kling writes: A big cost component for health insurance companies […]
9 of 10 companies anticipate their insurance will be banned
From MarketWatch: a new survey by Hewitt Associates, a global human resources consulting and outsourcing company, shows that almost all now believe they will not. Ninety percent of companies said they anticipate losing grandfathered status by 2014, with the majority expecting to do so in the next two years. Under the “grandfather” provision of the […]
Amendment 63: opposition is both flawed and deceptive
Mandatory insurance takes what’s wrong with health insurance and makes it worse. It means higher costs, less incentive to please patients, and the prohibition of affordable insurance plans . Amendment 63 would block Colorado politicians from imposing mandatory insurance. It would also prevent the feds from pressuring the Colorado legislature to enforce Washington’s version of […]
Government health plans does not mean getting care, CU hospitals show
This Denver Post article illustrates a key point about government-run health plans: having coverage does not mean you get medical care: Two clinics at University of Colorado Hospital — considered the state’s safety net for the needy — are turning away patients on government insurance plans because they can’t afford to treat them. … Colorado […]
The FDA, Avastin, and your life
Paul Hsieh, MD of Freedom and Individual Rights in Medicine writes: The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is on the verge of taking the highly unusual step of “decertifying” the cancer drug Avastin that it had previously approved. In addition to sparking concerns that this is another step towards medical rationing, the FDA’s proposal will […]
