By mandating insurance companies to cover reproductive services and contraception in all small group and individual plans, Republicans believe ruling Democrats are effectively making coverage more expensive for everyone.
Mandates require insurers to pay for care consumers previously funded out of their own pocket, such is the case with House Bill 1021 sponsored by Sens. Joyce Foster, D-Denver, and Betty Boyd, D-Lakewood.
“Whenever we put a mandate on medical insurance, we make it more expensive,” said Sen. Nancy Spence, R-Centennial.
Another consequence of increasing price is that healthy individuals, often young people with low salaries, drop coverage. Ironically, those are the exact people the system needs to offset the cost of covering people who are not healthy. This creates a downward spiral in which costs increase further and fewer individuals are covered.
According to eHealthInsurance.com in states like New Jersey and New York, which have passed similar mandates, individual policies for a 25-year old female can cost as much as $1,100 per month. “This hurts people right on the brink of being able to afford coverage,” Spence said. “If it passes, they will be more likely to opt out of buying insurance.”
HB 1021 still needs final approval from the Senate before advancing to the Governor’s desk.