Colorado Governor Asks Legislators To Address Small Business Insurance Market

Colorado Gov. Bill Owens (R) on April 30 asked state legislators to "substantially alter" laws concerning health insurers, after state officials informed him that nearly 82,000 Coloradans had been dropped from small-group health insurance plans last year, the Denver Rocky Mountain News reports. A yearly survey by the Colorado Division of Insurance indicated that the number of workers and dependents enrolled in small-group health insurance plans fell by 81,845 people to 456,151 last year, the lowest number of enrollees in the small-group market since the state began tabulating those figures. Owens asked legislators to consider several bills that advocates believe will increase access to coverage and lower the cost of health insurance in the state. The Rocky Mountain News does not provide further details about the bills (Perrault, Denver Rocky Mountain News, 5/1). In January, Owens said he might propose a plan to give tax credits to companies to help them purchase health coverage for their employees (Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report, 1/3).