COLORADO INSURANCE OFFICIALS REVIEWING RURAL/URBAN RATING DISCREPANCIES
Denver—Colorado insurance regulators have been taking a look at why health insurance premiums vary so widely between urban and rural areas, and they’re releasing some of their findings today. The Colorado Division of Insurance is responding to complaints from mountain areas where health insurance premiums under the new health care law are high. Health care has always been more expensive in far-flung communities, where there are fewer doctors, specialists and hospitals and resident tend to be older. But the rural-urban cost divide has been exacerbated by Obamacare because geography is one of only three determinants insurance companies are allowed to use to set premiums. Insurance regulators were also considering some sort of announcement on extending deadlines for people whose insurance doesn’t comply with the new law.
NOT EVERYONE FAVORS EXPIRATION OF OIL AND GAS LEASES
Debeque—Hundreds of natural gas workers, contractors and their supporters say the Bureau of Land Management should not change dozens of energy leases under review. The largely oil and gas industry crowd attended a meeting the BLM called in De Beque as part of its review of 65 oil and gas leases on land in the White River National Forest. Last night’s meeting followed sessions in Glenwood Springs, Carbondale and Aspen, where the agency overwhelmingly heard opposition to the leases. The De Beque meeting was scheduled after allegations that the BLM hadn’t heard from people in areas more supportive of drilling and close to many of the plots with leases under review. The BLM says the review could lead to leases being canceled, modified or left untouched.
DISTRACTED DRIVER SLAMS INTO STATE TROOPER’S CAR
CASTLE ROCK (AP) – A Colorado state trooper is getting checked out after his cruiser was rear-ended during a multiple-vehicle accident in Castle Rock. The patrol says the distracted driver of a Hummer hit the cruiser Friday morning, smashing in its trunk. The patrol turned the crash into a public service message. It tweeted a photo of the damaged cruiser saying “This car used to be bigger. Please pay attention!”
