CPC Special State Action Alert
Act today to stop health insurance greed in Colorado

make a call today ~ forward to a friend ~ posted April 15, 2008

Why do Colorado health insurers raise their rates whenever they want and why isn't Colorado one of 38 states to stop them from doing so?

Dear CPC Members and Friends:

CPC has organized statewide since 2000 to achieve health care for every Coloradan and to reduce the power of the health insurance industry.  First we worked to stop the profiteering of the drug industry.  Now, we're working in a broad coalition to rein in the greed of the health insurance industry and its many State Capitol lobbyists.

I hope that CPC can count on your support today, we need you!
Since 2000 Colorado family health care premiums have skyrocketed by 98%.  Meanwhile, health insurance carriers continue to make record profits in our state.  It’s time insurance companies make our health their bottom line.

The "Fair Accountable Insurance Rates" (FAIR) bill, sponsored by State Representative Morgan Carroll (Aurora) and Senator Paula Sandoval (Denver), was introduced at the State Capitol as House Bill 1389.  The FAIR bill will be heard on Thursday in the House Business Affairs Committee at 1:00PM. Join us and testify in favor of the FAIR bill, your legislators need to hear your support for the FAIR bill today.

Join CPC in supporting legislation to hold insurance carriers more accountable!

The FAIR bill requires carriers to get prior approval for proposed rate increases before they pass rate hikes on to consumers and small businesses.  The bill also will make carriers spend more of consumers’ premium dollars on covering healthcare for consumers and makes carriers accountable to consumers and makes premium regulation transparent.

What We Know:

• Colorado is the seventh highest insurance premium state in the country. (AHIP Center for Policy and Research September 2006). 
• From 2000-2007 Colorado health insurance premiums rose 98% while Coloradans' wages only grew by 24% in the same period (KFF/KRET Survey, Bureau of Labor Statistics 2006)
• Colorado has a higher than average rate of uninsured residents despite having the 7th highest per capita income in the nation.  There are currently 792,000 uninsured Coloradans, of which 84% are members of working families (Colorado Health Institute 2006).
• When Coloradans go uninsured, we all pay the price.  In 2005, the cost of caring for the uninsured raised Colorado family premiums by $934 a year (Families USA June 2005).
• In Colorado , employer-sponsored insurance is declining at a greater rate than the national average, a 6.4 percentage point decline in employer-sponsored insurance since 2004.  The US decrease is 4.8 points (Community Catalyst October 2006).

Here are three quick ways that you can make health insurers accountable

Please take action today to help get HB 1389 through the legislature.

1) Please contact your State Representative and State Senator to let them know you support FAIR.  You may contact your County Clerk or email me at francoise@progressivecoalition.org if you do not know who your elected officials are.

2) Contact these two State Representatives who've yet to commit to health insurance accountability:

3) Sign the petition to support FAIR by clicking on this link:

www.progressnowaction.org/fair  

Here are some quick, talking points for your call

The most important things to tell your State Representative are (1) you are a constituent or concerned community member; (2) your name; and (3) that you support the FAIR bill to require insurance companies to get approval before they raise rates.

Even though Colorado is one of the healthiest states in the nation, we have the 7th highest health insurance premiums in the country and our rates increase faster than in other states.

In 38 other states, rate hikes must be approved by a public official. But not here in Colorado – health insurance companies can raise rates whenever they want to.

CPC is supporting HB 1389 to give the Colorado State Division of Insurance the power to review proposed increases and deny rate hikes if they're un j ustified.

Insurance industry lobbyists are lining up to oppose this bill but we're counting on our representatives and senators at the State Capitol to stand up for the rest of us.

Please make your call today to stop the power of the health insurance industry.

Thank you.

In peace and for health justice,

Francoise Mbabazi
CPC Health Justice Program Director