Buying Colorado Health Insurance after Federal Healthcare Reform

Ever since Congress passed sweeping healthcare reform legislation earlier this year, Colorado health insurance brokers have been faced with many questions about how the new reforms will affect their customers‚Äô policies.  Some important changes will happen immediately, or in the very near future, and Colorado is working overtime to find the best ways to meet the new guidelines.

Rather than reading the entire bill, which is over 2,900 pages, the most important things to know about your Colorado health plan can be highlighted in a few paragraphs.

Here are some of the highlights:

• Pre-Existing Conditions:  Colorado health insurance companies will no longer be allowed to deny health insurance to children with pre-existing conditions.  A similar ban will go into place for adults beginning in 2014.
• Dependent Coverage Age:  Effective immediately, young adults up to age 26 can be covered on their parent‚Äôs Colorado health plans.
• Ban on Lifetime Caps: Insured individuals will no longer have a ‚Äúlifetime cap‚Äù on the amount of insurance coverage they can use.
• New High-Risk Pool:  In Colorado, like every other state, a new high-risk pool will provide coverage for adults who have been uninsured for at least six months due to a pre-existing condition.  In addition, the state will continue operating its successful "CoverColorado" high risk pool until the new one is implemented.

To ensure the new guidelines are fully implemented, Governor Ritter has appointed Lorez Meinhold as the new Director of National Reform Implementation in Colorado.  To learn more about how these new reforms will impact your individual or family health insurance policy/plan, contact a Colorado health insurance broker.  Michael Horvat is a health insurance expert and broker with HealthQuotes.com in Colorado Springs, CO. If you are searching for Colorado health insurance plans or quotes, please give Michael a call anytime at 800-345-0789.