Lawmakers mull auto, health insurance issues

John Fryar

Daily Record Denver Bureau



DENVER — State legislative panels are to start scrutinizing insurance issues this week.

On Wednesday, one of those committees is to begin a review of Colorado’s auto insurance laws.



On Thursday, a separate committee is to launch its study of the availability and affordability of health insurance.



In mid-2003, Colorado ended a nearly 30-year-old system of “no-fault” auto insurance, in which medical and rehabilitation expenses after an accident were covered by the injured driver’s own insurance company, regardless of who caused the accident.



Colorado switched to a “tort” system of auto insurance, in which the party at fault – or that person’s insur-ance company – is responsible for paying medical and rehabilitation expenses to the injured party. State Insurance Division officials have said that typically, auto insurance companies determine fault in a particu-lar accident, but that in disputed cases court action may be necessary.



Colorado’s change from no-fault to tort-based auto insurance lowered premiums for many motorists, espe-cially if they decided to forgo the personal medical coverage that’s no longer required for such policies.



At least some ambulance companies, hospital emergency rooms, and other health-care providers have complained, however, about late-paid or unpaid bills for treating accident victims who don’t have adequate coverage with other health policies, or victims whose health insurance companies take longer to make those payments.



Earlier this month, the Associated Press reported a coalition of Colorado health care providers said hospi-tals are losing more than $80 million a year in revenue as a result of the 2003 changes to the auto insurance system.



“The elimination of no-fault auto insurance has created gaps in coverage and problems in the delivery and availability of health care for injuries received in auto accidents,” the Legislature declared in its resolution creating the special committee that is to begin meeting Wednesday.