Health insurance rates in Colorado increased 9.4 percent, but that figure is still considered good news compared to even sharper spikes in past years, according to a widely followed benefits survey for the state.
The surge in 2012 health insurance rates is slightly higher than a 9 percent increase in a recent national survey, Bill Lindsay of Lockton Benefit Group, which conducts the Colorado report, told the Denver Post. But the figure is a huge improvement from 14.4 percent hikes this year and 11.8 percent in 2010, not to mention 19 and 18 percent hits in 2003 and 2004.
With private-sector healthcare spending in Colorado at about $600 million a year, each percentage point means tens of millions of dollars spent or saved, Lindsay added.
"We were really surprised" at the improvement, he told the Post. "The most important thing is that it's the lowest increase since 2000."
Progressive groups say the 9.4 percent spike this year is a victory for "Obama care," according to the Post. The Affordable Care Act, they added, is pulling down the cost curve in health insurance by forcing state rate reviews when insurers seek hikes of more than 10 percent.
When the act takes full effect in 2014, other protections will help set limits on total out-of-pocket expenses for employees and create a floor of minimum benefits, Dede de Percin of the Colorado Consumer Health Initiative, told the Post.
