Update on Health Exchanges
May 23, 2011
For those of you who couldn't attend our recent townhall on Aurora Health Access and the Colorado Health Insurance Exchange, I wanted to share a few key updates with you.
SB 200 (Boyd - Stephens) was the bill that created the foundation for the Colorado Health Exchange which will be up and running by the end of 2013. A few facts about the exchange:
- If you already have insurance through your employer you would continue with what you have.
- The exchange will essentially be a shopping / market place for health insurance to make it easier to identify apples-to-apples comparisons between price, coverage and quality of plans.
- All insurance carriers who offer the minimum benefits packages can sell in the health insurance exchange.
- Colorado has about 800,000 uninsured people, Aurora has about 75,000 uninsured people.
- There will be a quasi-governmental oversight structure with specialist and citizen appointees including provisions about open records, open meetings, audits and conflict of interest provisions.
- Customer satisfaction data will be tracked and made available.
Children with pre-existing conditions can no longer denied insurance coverage as of 2011. For adults that provisions takes effect in 2014.
There will be small business tax credits to help businesses afford health coverage for its employees and for individuals who cannot afford the individual mandate there will be federal subsidies available to help pay through the mechanism of your annual tax filing.
Under the current system it is estimated 3 - 9% of your insurance premium is cost-shifting paying for the current cost of the uninsured in the system. In 2010 alone one of our local hospitals wrote off more than $275 million in uncompensated care. By most accounts the current non-system is actually the most expensive form of paying for the uninsured.
Special thanks to:
Jeff Thompson with the University of Colorado Hospital
Rich McClean with Aurora Health Access and St. Therese Church
Joan Henneberry, Director of the Colorado Health Insurance Exchange
Dr. Barry Martin, VP for MCPN (Metro Community Provider Network)
Dr. Dennis Waite, CMO, Medical Center of Aurora
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