We hope this letter finds you relaxing in the shade with a nice cool drink with your legs propped up and enjoying yourself. At Roper Insurance we sure are enjoying helping great people like you save money on their health and life insurance costs. To be of help to you we have even come up with 5 Easy ways to save money on your Health Insurance in an article you will read below.  For now sit back relax and enjoy your lazy crazy days of summer.  Now is the perfect time to go on a picnic, take a hike, explore the outdoors with camping, go swimming, biking or take that nice car trip you have always wanted to take. It's a nice day outside -- go enjoy it while you can. Have a wonderful Summer! Our thoughts hopes and prayers are with you and your families.

Exciting New Free Service we are giving YOU our clients... We are giving away FREE WEBSITES!

How would you like to have your very own custom brand new wonderful website for free?  You now can have an awesome site just for the asking because you are a client of Roper Insurance!  Roper Insurance is always trying to bring more value to our clients and partners and with this program we can!

We are working with with Site Ninjas who will deliver to you a fully functional, ready to rock website!  Your website will help you market, get more business, get more leads, get your name out to the world, tell your hours, products you offer, let the world know that you mean business and much more!  If you already have a website, that is OK -- no problem. This Free site we are offering is just another site for you to help direct more traffic to your other website and helps move you up on the ratings of the search engines. Just click on this link and it will tell you more and how to get started today. www.SiteNinjas.com

Roper Insurance has 3 new people to help. We welcome Matt Lawrence, Steve Pfannenstiel, and Jack Waldron.

Matthew Lawrence was born and raised in Montrose, CO and has lived in Colorado his entire life.  In 1997 he graduated from the Denver Institute of Technology and began working in the electrical engineering field as a research and development technician.  Two years ago Matt left the turbulent technology industry to open his own health insurance agency.  With a client-first business model the agency grew rapidly, and soon the calls coming in were almost too many to handle.  In early 2006 Matt decided to become part of Roper Insurance and Financial Services.  With the ability to help more clients Matt stays very active growing Roper Insurance and exploring new ways to use technology to improve customer service. 

Steven Pfannenstiel was born in Dodge City, Kansas in 1958, and graduated from Kansas State University in 1981 with a dual bachelor degree in Business Management and Broadcast Journalism.  Prior to entering the health insurance industry, Steven worked in sales and marketing within the consumer products industry for more than 25 years.   Companies that Steven has worked for include Del Monte Foods, M&M/Mars, Pepsi-Cola General Bottlers, Sally Hansen Cosmetics and The Foreign Candy Company.  After serving as the National Sales Manager for The Foreign Candy Company, Steven began selling health insurance.  As of May 8th of this year, Steven joined Roper Insurance and Financial Services.

PacifiCare is leaving Individual Market

PacifiCare products and services have been changing since the merger with United Healthcare earlier this year. They have announced to us that they are no longer selling individual products. Policies in force will continue to be maintained for now but eventually may come under the United Healthcare banner. Small group plans are still being sold for now. Further development on this as we find out.  

Health Insurance Costs increasing

2006 medical costs for "typical" American family reach $13,382

The average total annual medical spending for the "typical American family of four" reached $13,382 in 2006, according to the second annual Milliman Medical Index (MMI). The MMI measures both the portion of costs covered by the employers benefit plan and the portion covered by the consumer through cost-sharing. The MMI breaks out and measures the rate of consumer (employee) spending and the rate of total spending for healthcare services in a given year.

The 2006 average yearly healthcare costs for a family of four covered by an employer-sponsored PPO increased by 9.6% from 2005 to 2006. The average family pays $2,210 out-of-pocket in the form of member cost sharing. The average annual rate of increase for the four-year period 2002-2006 was 9.7%. In 2006, inpatient and outpatient hospital services represented 46% of the total annual medical costs; physician services represented about 36%; prescription drugs about 14%; and miscellaneous services about 4%.

The study concludes that, although consumer cost-sharing continues to grow, the consumer-paid portion of total healthcare spending is not increasing. Overall average cost-sharing was about 17%, although the consumer share of pharmacy costs is about 24%.

MMI provides a benchmark by annually assessing the changes in healthcare costs over a 5-year period. The MMI also examines the key drivers and the components of actual medical spending. Source: www.milliman.com.    

Life Insurance getting Cheaper

If you have not shopped your life policy in a while for a price comparison it is now time to do so according to the Wall Street Journal. In a recent article they said that term life rates have dropped considerably in the last three years due to increased life expecentancies. Call us today for a Free comparison on how much you can save on your plan or get more life insurance coverage for the same cost.

5 Easy ways to save money on your Health Insurance costs

Two weeks ago, we were on Channel 9 News talking to consumers on how to save money on health insurance costs. If you missed it, here are the 5 easy ways for your review:

5 Easy Ways to Save Money on your Health Insurance

United/Pacificare in Negotiations with HealthOne Hospitals

Quotes from United Healthcare and Pacificare regarding contract negotiations with HealthOne:

On August 8, 2006, a letter regarding continuity of care eligibility and contact information will be sent to all affected Colorado members enrolled in a commercial product sponsored or issued by United Healthcare or PacifiCare.

Again, we value HealthONE and the quality of care they provide to our members and we intend to bring this negotiation to a successful and appropriate conclusion for all parties involved.  We will continue to engage in good-faith discussions with HealthONE in the hope of reaching a mutual agreement that allows United Healthcare and PacifiCare to continue offering affordable, quality health care products.

In the event that a new agreement is not reached, we have been preparing to ensure a smooth transition. We are committed to working directly with you, your clients, our members and the doctors in our network to minimize disruption.