May 24, 2010
Our most recent townhall meeting on May 20, 2010 was on "Tips to Save Money". There were some great tips provided by our expert panel and members of the audience.
1. Track EVERY dollar you spend for 3 months. You need a baseline to know what you are spending where if you are to better understand where you can save money.
2. Pay down debt. The faster you pay down debt the better your interest rates will be and the more of your own money you can keep.
3. Save. Put something away every month (like need to pay a creditor). The habit is more critical than the amount initially. http://www.americasaves.org/
4. Comparison Shop. The amount of time spent comparing should be somewhat proportionate to the size and significance of the purchase. i.e. a home, car, insurance or major appliance may warrant more research.
5. Check out the vendor. You should check out the vendor with the Better Business Bureau and if buying any good or service from a licensed profession, check out the profile from the Department of Regulatory Agencies to see what their complaint or disciplinary history includes (plumbers, doctors, electricians, cosmetologists etc.)
6. If you need help resolving tax issues, consider the DU tax clinic.
7. Look for bargains and deals (MileHighOnTheCheap.com) and other places. Remember coupons don't always mean its cheaper and look for a recognized vendor and expiration date on coupons to ensure they are legit. Corporate v. franchise may mean some coupons are not honored everywhere.
8. Ever tried frecycle? This is about as cheap as it comes, given that it is free. The Aurora freecycle group is at: http://groups.freecycle.org/Aurora-Freecycle/description.
9. Craig's List is another great resource for finding good deals. http://denver.craigslist.org/
10. Watch out for scams. Check with the consumer affairs division of the 18th Judicial District Attorney's office for the latest trends in scams. Also check with the Better Business Bureau. Don't give your social security, date of birth or other information out over the phone or internet unless you know who you are dealing with. Bottom line: you should be able to say "I'll get back with you" to any purchase and if they do a "now or never" on you, walk away.
11. Libraries. Membership to Colorado libraries are reciprocal and you can get free books, videos, computer access, classes, research assistance, job help, tax information. This is one of the best deals around.
12. Entertainment: Look for "free days" or matinees or other bargain times for museums, movies, plays, concerts.
13. Check out Fees and Deals at http://feesanddeals.blogspot.com/.
March 02, 2010
I am proudly carrying HB 1008 (S. Schafer, McCann - M. Carroll - Schwartz) which passed out of the house with only 2 no votes. At issue is the question of using "gender" as a rating factor in insurance premiums, apart from a persons actual claim history.
The National Women's Law Center originally released a report in 2008 called "Nowhere to Turn" which documented serious up-charging for women in the individual health insurance market, even in policies where there as no maternity coverage of any kind. They issued an updated report in 2009 called "Still Nowhere to Turn: Insurance Companies Treat Women Like a Pre-Existing Condition".
Women are paying on average 40% more for their individual health insurance premiums than men, for the exact same policies, even excluding maternity coverage.
The large group market has been prohibited from gender discrimination in its rates since passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Colorado closed the discrimination loophole for the small group market but has not closed the loophole for the individual health market. It is past time we did so.
The study found huge variation which defies any actuarial basis ranging from within the same age category and even within the same state. When the data supports an actuarial under-pinning one would expect a narrow range of deviation between plans using the same data in the same state but those variations range from 1% - 84. Only Kaiser Permanente in Colorado does not use gender rating in any of its plans.
At age 40, half of the best-selling plans in Colorado still charge women up to 48% more than their male peers who smoke. This is compounded by the fact that women in Colorado with a batchelor's degree still earn only 64% of the amount earned by men with a batchelor's degree, and are disproportionately in lower wage jobs that do not provide health insurance.
This bill would make insurance more affordable for 140,000 women and their dependent children who depend on the individual health insurance market for their access to health care. It would help help some of the 277,000 Colorado women with no coverage by making it more affordable.
This bill would still allow carriers to use prior claims history so that patients who use more medical services would pay more (regardless of gender) and those who use less services would pay less.
February 18, 2010
Last year I ran a bill to achieve the following phamaceutical reforms:
- eliminate financial conflicts of interest on state boards;
- prohibit gifts (except samples) to docs;
- provide disclosures; and
- prohibit the practice of data-mining (reselling your rx info for marketing).
…and it failed.
There ultimately cannot be health care reform (at either the state or federal level) without pharmaceutical prescription reforms.
The rising cost of drugs is the fast growing cost-driver beneath insurance premiums. The pharmaceutical industry is one of the most profitable industries in the world yet a greater number of people can not afford the cost of drugs needed.
The pharmaceutical industry spends approximately $30 billion per year to promote their drugs. Research demonstrates that these funds DO change prescribing behavior and we have seen an increase in the number of medical errors relating to medication errors.
This year I am running a bill that simply addresses pharmaceutical transparency so we can follow our health care dollar in Colorado. It is written to mirror and often over-looked provisions of the federal health care reform bills, that PhRMA publicly supported and spent significant funds to promote its passage. This provision enjoys bipartisan support at the federal level and in other states, but so far not in Colorado.
This is about:
- Cost
- Transparency
- Patient Safety
February 11, 2010
Your Health is Your Life
The Skolnik Family
The legislature passed the Michael Skolnik Medical Transparency Act in 2007. HB 07-1331 brought consumers more informations about M.D.s (only) in Colorado and across state lines. (House 65-0, Senate 33:1). We passed a clean-up bill to facilitate implementation with HB 09-1188 (House 63:0, Senate 34:0). The system is up and running well.
Public Service Announcement: You can look up information about your doctor at:
https://www.dora.state.co.us/pls/real/PPR_SEARCH_GUI.show_page or
http://www.patientsrighttoknow.org/
SB 10-124 brings parallel transparency this year to many of the other important health care professionals to ensure maximum information to help patients make informed choices.
Why?
- To ensure that patients and health care consumers are empowered with information to help them make informed choices about their health care providers
Who is added?
- Audiologists and licensed hearing aid providers;
- Acupuncturists;
- Podiatrists;
- Chiropractors;
- Dentists and dental hygienists;
- Physician assistants;
- Direct-entry midwives;
- Practical nurses, professional nurses, and advanced practice nurses;
- Optometrists;
- Physical therapists; and
- Psychologists, social workers, marriage and family therapists, professional counselors, addiction counselors, and unlicensed psychotherapists.
What is reported?
- Location of the applicant's practice
- Education & training the person received pertaining to his or her profession
- Board certifications
- Hospital or health care facility affiliations
- Health-care related business ownership
- Other licenses, certifications, or registrations to practice issued in the previous 10 years
- Any malpractice history or refusal to cover professional liability insurance
- Any termination by employer for violating the terms of the practice acts in Colorado
- May add any special honors, awards or recognition in field
*About the Skolniks. This and the original bill have been named in honor and in memory of Michael Skolnik. He was the only child of Patty & David Skolnik. He underwent brain surgery for a cyst that never existed, bruised his brain-stem, left him convalescent. He ultimately died of organ failure. Patty and David have been dedicated to improving patient safety and increasing consumer information and education with the hope that perhaps some other family can avoid what they went through.
February 06, 2010
I will be presenting SB 124 to Senate HHS Thursday February 11, 2010 at 1:30 PM. This bill gives health care patients more information and transparency on their various health care providers. More information below:
History: The legislature passed the Michael Skolnik Medical Transparency Act in 2007 in HB 07-1331 bringing consumers more informations about M.D.s (only) in Colorado and across state lines. (House 65-0, Senate 33:1). We passed a clean-up bill to facilitate implementation with HB 09-1188 (House 63:0, Senate 34:0). The system is up and running well.
Public Service Announcement: Let your friends and family know they can get information to help select their doctor at: https://www.dora.state.co.us/pls/real/PPR_SEARCH_GUI.show_page.
The Bill: SB 10-124
Brings parallel transparency this year to many of the other important health care professionals to ensure maximum information to help patients make informed choices.
Why?
- To ensure that patients and health care consumers are empowered with information to help them make informed choices about their health care providers
Who is added?
- Audiologists and licensed hearing aid providers;
- Acupuncturists;
- Podiatrists;
- Chiropractors;
- Dentists and dental hygienists;
- Physician assistants;
- Direct-entry midwives;
- Practical nurses, professional nurses, and advanced practice nurses;
- Optometrists;
- Physical therapists; and
- Psychologists, social workers, marriage and family therapists, professional counselors, addiction counselors, and unlicensed psychotherapists.
What is reported?
- Location of the applicant's practice
- Education & training the person received pertaining to his or her profession
- Board certifications
- Hospital or health care facility affiliations
- Health-care related business ownership
- Other licenses, certifications, or registrations to practice issued in the previous 10 years
- Any malpractice history or refusal to cover professional liability insurance
- Any termination by employer for violating the terms of the practice acts in Colorado
- May add any special honors, awards or recognition in field
NOTE: Patty and David Skolnik are the parents of Michael Skolnik who died prematurely after a brain operation for a cyst that never existed, causing hemorrhage to the brain stem, convalescence and ultimately organ failure and death. They were unable to obtain a lengthy malpractice history of this physician from licenses previously held in other states. They are committed to ensuring that all patients have the right to critical information about qualification, training and safety record to make informed choices about their health care providers.
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