CCHI’s “Covered U” models how to use insurance, save money
MEDIA RELEASE
Nov. 19, 2014
Contact: Jenny Davies-Schley, 720-296-9545
DENVER – Today the Colorado Consumer Health Initiative (CCHI) launched “Covered U,” a new website to help the newly insured navigate how and where to best access health care services.
“Now that Coloradans can sign up for health insurance again under open enrollment, it’s important that they not only know how to buy the best plan for their health care needs, but also know how to use that insurance,” said Adam Fox, CCHI director of strategic engagement. “The interactive website will allow consumers to compare their health care choices and costs in basic scenarios and identify what kind of coverage might best suite them.”
The website directs users to either “How to USE your health insurance” or “How to SHOP for health insurance.” The insurance usage section presents “choose your own adventure” style medical scenarios (sick, cut or appendicitis) and choices of care locations (doctor office, urgent care or E.R.) and presents a cost estimate for those choices. The shopping for insurance section helps consumers compare basic levels of coverage and plan types to better understand what they should look for when enrolling.
“The big news is that almost everyone will be able to get health insurance through Connect for Health Colorado,” said CCHI’s Fox. “But a big part of health insurance is how and where somebody accesses care. Now it’s easy to get the guidance they need to use their health insurance most appropriately and most affordably.”
According to a recent survey published by the Kaiser Family Foundation on Nov. 11, many people with less education, younger Americans and the uninsured do not understand how to most effectively use health insurance. For example, only 39 percent of respondents between the ages of 18 and 29 could correctly calculate the out-of-pocket cost for a hospital stay with a given co-pay and deductible.
CoveredU.org will be a tool that community based health groups and Connect for Health Colorado health coverage guides can use to help educate health care consumers on buying and using health insurance.
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Colorado Consumer Health Initiative represents 50+ Colorado organizations and individual members representing more than 500,000 Colorado consumers, advocating for affordable, accessible, quality health care for all Coloradans.