State legislators are not waiting for Congress to pass a comprehensive health care bill. Here in Colorado, 17 bills offer some kind of change to how health insurance may be delivered in the future.

Working out's not enough; got to drop those pounds

Today, insurance companies offered up HB10-1160, modifying incentives and rewards for individuals who use wellness programs. Currently, if individuals use such a program, they can receive discounts up to 20 percent on their premiums. This bill tightens up the rewards by tying them to outcomes. Lose weight... get a reward. Stop smoking...get a reward. You can't just work out. An outcome has to happen.

Disability groups and medical organizations objected to the bill sponsored by Rep. Joe Rice (D) and Rep. Amy Stephens (R). The bill, these groups say, discriminates against people with disabilities for whom specified outcomes may never occur.

Individuals with rheumatoid arthritis, for example, may never be able to work out hard and long enough to lose weight, but any activity can help the disease. Same with MS and heart disease. Same with most people over 55, this writer notes, whose metabolism seems to slow down to zero even with strenuous workouts. This bill has been laid over to figure out what an "outcome" is, not to be confused with what is is.

Plain English for insurance documents

Writers will delight in HB10-1166 that requires auto, health insurance, and long term care insurance plans be written in plain English. This bill, if it passes, may keep former Rocky Mountain News reporters and editors busy for many years.

The plans must be written at an education level not to exceed 10th grade. Undefined is what tool will determine the grade level. Most common is the Fog Index, or the Flesch-Kinkaid Grade Level tool based on the number of big words (3 syllables or more) to total words in a sentence. Using this method, HB10-1166 works out to a 12 twelfth grade level. Apparently, this is a "do what I say, not what I do" bill, a phrase that comes out just right for 7th graders.

Simplified health insurance applications

Two other bills, HB10-1004 and HB10-1242, require health insurance providers to use a common application form for individual purchasers of health insurance. Rep. Tom Massey's (R)bill, HB10-1004, wants the application with explanations of benefits ready to go in 2011. HB10-1242 requires a common application by 2012. The difference in time frame, one might surmise, depends on whether HB10-1166 (see above) passes.

Want to know who's getting gifts from PhRMA?

Not to leave out transparency and PhRMA, Sen. Morgan Carroll (D) is trying another time to bring transparency to the drug industry. SB10-126, The Pharmaceutical Transparency Act, requires manufacturers of drugs, medical devices, or supplies to identify any transfers of value or payments made to health care practitioners prescribing these items. Other conflicts of interest to be reported include ownership or investment interests by health practitioners in the manufacturers. The Secretary of State would manage the reporting.

Last year Carroll cited instances where medical practitioners received skiing trips to high priced resorts and other nice gifts for doing research and reading their papers at conferences. That effort went down to a resounding defeat in the first committee hearing. PEN, Colorado Capitol Watch

 

This post was published on February 7, 2010. Permalink »