We’re closing in on December 15, one of the most important deadlines of the year and we have a lot to be proud of. Plan selections in our first month were 23% over last year’s first month — and that was a good year.

We’re almost halfway through and every measure points to our most successful Open Enrollment ever.

That’s not to minimize the challenges we currently face in the public policy arena. There will be debates at the state and federal level on the future of exchanges and healthcare reform. As a state-based Marketplace formed to provide a “Colorado solution,” we will be keeping an eye on both levels and we take note that some of the talk in Congress now suggests turning more authority over to state governments.

This process can be expected to take time but the shape of policy changes should start to become clearer when state and federal legislative bodies begin meeting. Here are some dates you might want to be aware of:

• Congress reconvenes Jan 3. 2017.
• The Colorado Legislature begins work Jan. 11, 2017.
• The president is inaugurated Jan. 20, 2017.
• Health insurance companies in Colorado normally file their 2018 individual and small group plans and rates in May for the following year.

In the meantime, we remain committed to keeping you, our customers and our stakeholders aware of what we do know and we have made some recent updates:

• The “Election Questions” page has been updated with communications to our Stakeholders and customers.
• The “Election Questions” page links to a new page in the Board Policy Topics section of the website called “Election Impacts”. This page will serve as a repository for documents referencing potential impacts to the ACA and Connect for Health Colorado.
• My email newsletters are being posted as “CEO Blogs” in the News section of our web site.

In Recent News

Health insurance companies spoke out this week through their national association, the Association of Health Plans. While not opposing repeal of the Affordable Care Act, the insurers asked for a commitment from the Trump administration and congressional leaders that the government will continue offsetting some costs for low-income people. They also want to keep in place rules that encourage people to sign up. Thursday’s New York Times included this article.

Hospital groups raised concern about repealing the Affordable Care Act, saying that hospitals stand to lose billions of dollars in a repeal. The Federation of American Hospitals on Tuesday released a report that said that the loss of coverage by undoing the ACA through a measure introduced last year would cost hospitals $165.8 billion. Read more in the Morning Consult and Modern Healthcare

Finally, I want to thank you in advance for the work ahead to help Coloradans enroll by December 15 so that they can have their financial security and health protected for all of the coming year.

Kevin Patterson, MURP, MPA
Chief Executive Officer
Connect for Health Colorado