Connect for Health Colorado® CEO: Customer Experience Key for State Health Insurance Marketplace

Contact: Luke Clarke, [email protected], 720-496-2545

DENVER (May 15, 2015) Connect for Health Colorado®  Interim CEO Kevin Patterson on Friday committed the state health insurance Marketplace to improving the customer experience for Colorado families, individuals and small businesses buying health insurance, in a meeting with reporters.

“We recognize that thousands of our customers, our Health Coverage Guides, our Brokers and our carrier partners depend on us getting the right technology in place to make it easier to enroll in and renew health insurance coverage for 2016,” said Patterson, who took over as interim chief executive officer on May 8. “Our teams are working daily with our vendors, our federal and state partners and our stakeholders on fixing those parts of our eligibility process that did not perform well in the last Open Enrollment Period to ensure a better result during our next Open Enrollment.

“More than 150,000 people have enrolled in coverage for 2015 through us but too many were tripped up by technology and had to wait on hold to reach a customer service representative to complete enrollment,” Patterson said. “We know we can do better and we will have to do better to meet our mission to increase access, affordability and choice for Coloradans buying health insurance.”

Patterson also emphasized the successes the health insurance Marketplace has achieved since opening for business Oct. 1, 2013, including:

  • Launching on time and without the technical issues of other marketplaces for the first Open Enrollment – contributing to a statewide drop in uninsured rates.
  • Enrolling more 150,000 Coloradans in coverage for 2015 – about 10 percent ahead of last year’s pace.
  • Supporting competitive pricing among the 15 health and dental insurers vying for business.
  • Providing customers decision support tools not yet available in other exchanges — a prescription look-up tool and an online provider directory.

Open Enrollment for 2016 will be from November 1, 2015, to January 31, 2016.

About Connect for Health Colorado

Connect for Health Colorado is a public, non-profit entity established by the Colorado General Assembly in 2011 to create a health insurance Marketplace.  We opened for business on Oct. 1, 2013, for individuals, families and small employers to compare and buy health insurance and are the only place to apply for financial assistance in the form of tax credits to help lower the monthly cost of premiums. Customers can shop online; get help by phone or online chat from Customer Service Center representatives; and access free, in-person assistance from a statewide network of certified Brokers, community based Health Coverage Guides or Application Counselors. For more information: www.connectforhealthco.com