Here are four observations:
1. The bill is sponsored by Rep. Diane Mitsch Bush (D-Steamboat Springs), Rep. Bob Rankin (R-Carbondale), Rep. Millie Hamner (D-Dillon) and Sen. Kerry Donovan (D).
2. Individual health insurance customers in the mountain resort region that includes Eagle, Summit, Pitkin and Garfield counties pay some of the highest rates in the nation.
3. The higher costs in certain regions is due to a provision in the 2010 PPACA that allows states to establish insurance risk pools in specific geographic areas. Several factors, including the cost of care in the area, mean that insurers are able to charge customers who live in those high-cost areas more.
4. Ms. Donovan said House Bill 1336 directs the Colorado Division of Insurance to have its study complete by Aug. 1, 2016. After that, the state agency can act without legislative direction.
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