Insurance discounts based on standard health outcomes
Bill Update: As of June 6, 2010 the legislature has passed and the Governor has signed this bill into law.
The Chronic Care Collaborative has moved to a neutral position since its member organizations were unable to reach a full consensus due to individual organizations' policies. The Colorado Chapter of the National MS Society remained opposed to this bill since we do not want insurance pricing to be tied to wellness outcomes rather than participation.
We believe that House Bill 1160 would be a harmful move for health and wellness. It would allow insurance companies to determine what health outcomes (or health risk factors) clients should achieve in order to receive a discount.
Those who are living with a chronic disease or MS are limited in ways that those who are not living with these diseases. It could be symptoms such as mobility, cognition, balance, or even the medication that is helping mitigate symptoms.
Health and wellness is an important part of living a healthy lifestyle, especially with a chronic disease, since healthy behaviors can mitigate some symptoms or disease progression. 2009's bill (House Bill 1012) allowed insurance companies to offer discounts based on participation in wellness programs. We supported this bill, since participation should be incentivized, rather than specified outcomes applied to the whole population.
To stay updated on important issues that impact you or those you know who live with MS, please sign up for our Action Alerts and tell your friends, too! We are working on this bill with our partners in the Chronic Care Collaborative.
If you have any other questions about advocacy or your legislature, please contact the Colorado-Wyoming Chapter's Public Policy Coordinator, Kara Nett at 303-698-5445 or e-mail kara.nett@nmss.org.