small-group market

HB 07-1355 adds a critical building block to the state's effort to reform health care. By building insurance premium rates on less restrictive case characteristics, the state can facilitate development of more diverse health risk pools.

Introduction: This bill represents a net opportunity gain for Colorado. HB 07-1355 adds a critical building block to the state's effort to reform health care. By building insurance premium rates on less restrictive case characteristics, the state can facilitate development of more diverse health risk pools.

The Colorado General Assembly passed legislation in 2007 to eliminate health status and claims experience as case characteristics that small-group insurers could use to set health insurance premium rates. This legislation still allows insurers to set rates based on other characteristics, such as age, family composition, type of industry, tobacco use and geography.

It???s time that Colorado prohibits health insurance carriers from considering claims history or health status when setting premium rates for small business, says Robin Baker, a senior policy analyst for the Bell Policy Center.