Wednesday, August 30, 2006

Colorado Uninsured Rising

The portion of Coloradans with employment-based health insurance has dropped 7 percent in five years as rising health-care costs push insurance policies out of reach.
The portion of the workforce under 65 covered by work-based insurance fell to 64 percent in 2005, according to a U.S. Census study released Tuesday.
The Denver Post reports: The total number of Colorado residents without insurance reached an all-time high of 788,000, or 17 percent of the state's population, the study said.
Driving the insurance decline is a 10 percent annual increase in medical costs, according to Dr. Gary VanderArk, president of the Colorado Coalition for the Medically Underserved.
"Employees are expected to pick up bigger and bigger co-pays and bigger deductibles, and it drives some out," he said.
Some employers are either not offering insurance or cutting back on benefits, said Carrie Curtiss, associate director of the Colorado Consumer Health Initiative.

As health care costs continue to increase; employers are covering less and less and employees essentially end up with a smaller income.

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