Colorado Insurer Launches First ‘Bare-Bones’ Health Plan in State

Grand Junction, Colo.-based Rocky Mountain Health Plans on Wednesday launched the first "bare-bones" health plan available to small businesses in the state, the Denver Post reports. A law (HB 1164) signed by Gov. Bill Owens (R) earlier this year aims to "shore up the state's ailing public health safety net and rein in skyrocketing health care costs" by allowing insurance companies to offer health plans that exclude coverage for services normally required by the state, such as mammograms and prostate screenings. The new plans feature high deductibles and coverage for catastrophic illnesses and injuries (Austin, Denver Post, 10/1). Businesses with 50 or fewer employees are permitted to offer at least one such health plan. The law also establishes a pilot program that will allow small businesses to form purchasing pools to buy health plans (Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report, 5/23). The new health plans, which Owens calls the "Chevrolet health package," are the central to the governor's plan to make medical care more affordable for working families, the Post reports. "We are hoping to provide more insurance to more people," Owens said. "What I'm trying to do is for the person who owns a nine-person real estate brokerage who says, 'I can't afford to offer you the Cadillac plan," he added. However, critics of the law contend that the widespread adoption of such plans might actually drive up the number of uninsured, according to the Post (Denver Post, 10/1).