Another Health Care reform to Help Resort Towns:

Quickly gaining national attention, as it should, the argument to lower health care cost’s in resort areas is gaining steam. For unknown reasons health care coverage in resort towns like Summit County, is sufficiently higher than surrounding cities.
On an average health care premiums for those who live in resort towns or ‘destination towns’ such as Vail, Breckenridge, Aspen, Glenwood and other towns across the country are paying almost 15% more than people with the same demographics in a large city or rural area.

With the price of living being higher in these areas as well, these health care premiums were a cost that most could not take on. One of the main reasons that Colorado senators as well as congress people are adamant about seeing the change in price is that the median income does not support the crazy premiums these same people have to pay. “We did not want to see our hard working middle class citizens be chased from our beautiful mountain towns just because of the increase of price of living” said Senator Salazar.

The last week of May the biggest positive of this reform was “ok’ed” by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The Colorado Division of Insurance requested to repeal the 11 current geographic ratings in order to get a more equal price on insurance premiums.

‘Obamacare’ proved that it helped a lot of high country residents, in Eagle County alone it allowed many previously uninsured residence to apply and receive insurance. Although, that is a good sign the prices are still at an unfair rate and the hope by 2015, the insurance companies will even out its prices.

Thus: our local representatives are attempting to make it fair for us that are living or want to live in the mountain communities. Again, with prices of living slightly hire than elsewhere we are doing what we can to make our mountain living more affordable.