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Western Slope premiums may rise again

Screenshot from live video of signing

 The Roaring Fork Valley’s health insurance costs are already the highest in the state. Those numbers could rise again due to a presidential order signed yesterday.

President Trump said increased competition in the insurance marketplace will lower premiums. His hope is that this can be done by allowing insurance companies to offer low-cost low-coverage plans.

Adam Fox of the nonpartisan non-profit Colorado Consumer Health Initiative said this might not be the case for Colorado’s resort communities.

“There is really no way, with those kind of health insurance options, to guarantee that people would have a base level of coverage to rely on,” he said. “So that means those people that really do need a broad range of health care services would have to continue buying private insurance, and those premiums will go higher. And that's a huge concern especially in the parts of the state where premiums are already so high.”

The executive order will not cause immediate change. It’s a directive to regulatory groups to “start changing things.” New rules will apply to Coloradans in the individual marketplace and those receiving health insurance from small workplaces.

 

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