Health Law and Policy Update: October 1, 2013

***As open enrollment begins at Connect for Health Colorado and across the country, CCLP brings you this special Obamacare marketplace open enrollment edition of the Health Law and Policy update.

This week's updates:

• Open enrollment: day 1
• Congratulations, Connect for Health Colorado!
• Answering your questions about Obamacare
• Colorado's marketplace launches new advertising campaign

·         Questions about health care? CCLP can help!

Open enrollment: day 1

Today, Individuals and small businesses can begin shopping for health insurance through Connect for Health Colorado, Colorado's new health insurance marketplace. Coverage begins January 1, 2014. Coloradans can sign up for coverage anytime in the next six months and will need to sign up by December 15th for their coverage to begin in January.

Connect for Health Colorado and marketplaces around the country are experiencing high levels of traffic today as millions of people begin to shop for insurance and learn about the financial assistance that will make health insurance affordable. In remarks this morning, President Obama said that the federally-run marketplace web site had experienced more than one million visitors before 7am.

CCLP will continue to monitor how consumers and patients are faring as the open enrollment period continues.

Congratulations, Connect for Health Colorado!

Thanks to bipartisan and common sense efforts by Coloradans, Connect for Health Colorado, our state's health insurance marketplace, opens for business today. Congratulations to the marketplace, it's staff, and all those who have worked diligently to put affordable, quality health insurance with in reach of so many Coloradans.

Answering your questions about Obamacare

CCLP's health policy team will be interviewed and take listener questions on the radio as part of KGNU's morning broadcast tomorrow. Tune in at 8:35am Wednesday morning and hear more about Obamacare and the beginning of open enrollment at Connect for Health Colorado.

CCLP and other health advocates will also be available to answer questions every night this week as part of KDVR Fox News 31's health reform phone bank. Tune into KDVR at 5pm this week for more details.

Colorado's marketplace launches new advertising campaign

As open enrollment kicks off, Connect for Health Colorado has launched a new campaign educating individuals, families, and small businesses about the new marketplace. TV ads target a number of different groups including young adults, business owners, and spanish-speaking audiences. The campaign will also feature print and outdoor advertisements.

Check out two of the marketplace's television commercials on YouTube.

Questions about health care? CCLP can help!

CCLP is available to speak to groups of all sizes about health reform, health insurance, Medicaid, and other health issues important to Coloradans.  Contact Kyle Brown (kbrown@cclponline.org;  303.573.5669 x 304) for more information.

Health Law and Policy Update 9/17/13: Open Enrollment Begins Oct 1

Open enrollment begins Tuesday

On Tuesday, individuals and small businesses can begin shopping for health insurance through Connect for Health Colorado, Colorado's new health insurance marketplace. Coverage begins January 1, 2014.

Colorado's health insurance marketplace leading way

In today's Denver Post, CCLP highlights how Colorado and its marketplace are leading the way in making affordable, quality health insurance available for Coloradans.

This week's updates:

• Colorado releases new paper application for health programs
• Kaiser Permanente plans will cover transgendered health care
• Government shutdown over Obamacare funding appears likely
• Questions about health care? CCLP can help!

Colorado releases new paper application for health programs

This week, the Colorado Department of Health Care Policy and Financing (HCPF), Department of Human Services (DHS) and Connect for Health Colorado (C4HCO) released a new paperapplication which may be used to apply for Medicaid, CHP+ and premium tax credits available through Connect for Health Colorado. People may apply for coverage either by using this paper application or through an online application process.

Establishment of the "single streamlined application" was perhaps one of the most meaningful changes under the Affordable Care Act (ACA) with respect to improving the enrollment experience. The Kaiser Family Foundation released a report in early 2013 that highlighted how the complexity of Medicaid applications has been a barrier for individuals and families seeking coverage. The new single streamlined application is far more accessible and asks only for information that is absolutely essential to enroll an individual in coverage. In addition, the uniform application process furthers the goal of a "no wrong door" approach to coverage

The new paper application along with a number of reference guides is available on HCPF's website.

Kaiser Permanente plans will cover transgendered health care

Kaiser Permanente, a leading health insurer in Colorado, announced this week that it would cover trangendered health care as part of its insurance plans.

Kaiser's announcement comes on the heals of a similar announcement by Colorado's newly formed health insurance co-operative, Colorado HealthOP.

Health insurance plans often deny care to transgender individuals, sometimes irrespective of whether they have transitioned. Individuals may be denied specific care, or denied insurance entirely, solely on the basis of their transgender status.

In a statement, the insurer said "Kaiser Permanente now provides coverage for additional services to treat gender dysphoria." Kaiser said it was committed to "reducing health disparities and providing culturally competent care."

CCLP joined LGBT advocates in asking the Kaiser not to include exclusions for transgender health coverage.

The effort to encourage coverage for transgender services is led by One Colorado.

Government shutdown over Obamacare funding appears likely

A federal government shutdown appears more likely as lawmakers continue to debate whether to continue funding the health reform law. Even with Senate passage of a government funding bill earlier today, Senate and House leaders seem unlikely to reach an agreement that will keep the government running past Monday.

Despite a 21 hour talk-a-thon by Senator Ted Cruz and a handful of other Senators earlier this week, Senate Democrats amended a House-passed bill funding bill, stripping it of the provisions that would defund Obamacare. The bill now returns to the House for final approval.

House leaders originally added provisions defunding the health reform law in order to garner enough Republican votes to keep the government running. Republican leaders are likely to amend the bill again and send it back to the Senate. But if an agreement can't be reached by Tuesday, the federal government will shut down.

If the government does shut down, the health reform law will continue to be implemented. Funding for expanding Medicaid and running the new health insurance marketplaces, like Connect for Health Colorado, is not tied to the government funding that is set to expire. Coloradans can begin to shop for health insurance through Connect for Health Colorado starting Tuesday.

The threat of a government shutdown occurs in the shadow of another, more serious deadline. Earlier this week, the Treasury Department said that if Congress does not act by October 17th,the U.S. will run out of borrowing authority, known as the "debt ceiling," and will default on its financial obligations. A default could have dire economic consequences in the U.S. and abroad.

But, even after House Republicans released a proposal to raise the debt ceiling in exchange for a long list of other demands, some House Republicans refuse to consider the debt ceiling before the government funding bill is resolved.

The Washington Post has put together a timeline of events  in preparation for a possible government shutdown. Follow the latest developments in this story on the New York Times , The Washington Post, and Politico.

Questions about health care? CCLP can help!

CCLP is available to speak to groups of all sizes about health reform, health insurance, Medicaid, and other health issues important to Coloradans.  Contact Kyle Brown (kbrown@cclponline.org;  303.573.5669 x 304) for more information.

Raising the state income tax to support public education will not harm Colorado's economy

Changes to state taxes have little influence on business location decisions, the creation of small businesses or other economic activity, according to Increasing the Income Tax Won't Hurt Colorado's Economy, an analysis released by the Colorado Center on Law and Policy, Bell Policy Center and the Colorado Fiscal Institute. Other factors, like how the nation is faring economically and how much consumers are spending, are far more important to the economic health of states.

 "An extensive body of academic research clearly shows that state tax rates have little to no effect on economic growth," said Rich Jones, director of policy and research at the Bell Policy Center. "In fact, targeted tax increases that finance better quality education strengthen the economy. Amendment 66 will help ensure we produce the type of well educated workers businesses need."

The study, Increasing the Income Tax Won't Hurt Colorado's Economy, finds that:

• State tax levels only have a minor effect on economic growth.
• Businesses do not make location or relocation decisions based on state and local taxes, in part because they make up a very small portion of business costs.
• Businesses are far more likely to consider access to suppliers, labor costs, the quality of the workforce and the reliability of public services like schools, transportation, and public safety when making important decisions about their companies.
• Taxes also have a minimal effect on the creation of small businesses in a state. States that have income tax rates that rise along with income - another feature of Amendment 66 - actually had increasing rates of entrepreneurship, according to a nationwide study.
• National economic trends have a greater impact on Colorado's economic growth than state-level tax policies. Colorado's income growth closely tracks national income growth, not changes in the state income tax. Economic growth in Colorado has fluctuated whether the highest individual tax rate was 8 percent or 4.63 percent.
• Colorado has very little control over the national economy. However, state policymakers have a lot of control over education, and investing in education can have widespread economic benefits for all, such as higher median wages, stronger personal income growth and increased business investments.

This is the second installment in a three-part series outlining the economic benefits of Amendment 66. The first issue brief (Investing in education will boost Colorado economy) showed that investments in education actually spur economic growth. The final brief will demonstrate how Amendment 66 will improve our state tax system. 

Contact:

Terry Scanlon

Public Affairs Manager

tscanlon@cclponline.org

303-573-5669 ext. 311

April Recovery Watch

Colorado unemployment rate drops for eleventh straight month, state economy continues improving 

The unemployment rate continued to decrease in April, falling from 7.1 percent in March to 6.9 percent in April. That marks the lowest unemployment rate since January 2009. The small decline in unemployment is a result of improvement in the labor market. In April, about 4,000 workers entered the labor force, and the number of employed Coloradans increased by about 7,500 according to one measure. Colorado’s unemployment rate remains below the national rate, which also fell in April.

Unemployment 
The unemployment rate in Colorado decreased for the eleventh consecutive month in April. The rate fell 0.2 percentage points from 7.1 percent in March to 6.9 percent in April. (See Figure 1.) The unemployment rate in April 2013 was 1.3 percentage points lower than it was in April 2012 and is the lowest unemployment rate since January of 2009 when the unemployment rate was 6.7 percent. However, Colorado’s unemployment rate is still 2.8 percentage points higher than when the recession began in December 2007. Nationally, the unemployment rate also declined slightly from March to April, moving from 7.6 percent to 7.5 percent. The national unemployment rate of 7.5 in April is the lowest since December of 2008 when the rate was 7.3 percent.

Click to enlarge.

In the latest edition of Colorado Recovery Watch, CCLP policy analyst Andrew Ball examines a range of data showing where the state of Colorado stands on the road to economic recovery.

Colorado Recovery Watch is a monthly snapshot of economic data, with a special focus on jobs and public-assistance programs. Read it online, along with other analysis of jobs and economic security from the Colorado Center on Law and Policy.

March Recovery Watch

Colorado unemployment rate drops for tenth straight month, state economy continues to strengthen

The most recent economic data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics show yet another slight decrease in Colorado’s unemployment rate from 7.2 percent in February to 7.1 percent in March. That marks the lowest unemployment rate since January 2009. The small decline in unemployment is a result of continued, albeit slight, improvement in the labor market. In March, about 1,200 workers entered the labor force and the number of employed Coloradans increased by about 5,000. Colorado’s unemployment rate remains below the national rate, which also fell in March.

Unemployment 
The unemployment rate in Colorado decreased for the tenth consecutive month in March. The rate fell 0.1 percentage points for the second straight month. (See Figure 1.) The unemployment rate in March 2013 was more than one percentage point lower than it was in March 2012 and is the lowest unemployment rate since January of 2009 when the unemployment rate was 6.7 percent. However, Colorado’s unemployment rate is still three percentage points higher than when the recession began in December 2007. Nationally, the unemployment rate also declined slightly from February to March moving from 7.7 percent to 7.6 percent. The national unemployment rate of 7.6 in March is the lowest since December of 2008 when the rate was 7.3 percent.

Click to enlarge.

In the latest edition of Colorado Recovery Watch, CCLP policy analyst Andrew Ball examines a range of data showing where the state of Colorado stands on the road to economic recovery.

Colorado Recovery Watch is a monthly snapshot of economic data, with a special focus on jobs and public-assistance programs. Read it online, along with other analysis of jobs and economic security from the Colorado Center on Law and Policy.