Connect for Health Colorado® Customers See Lower Net Premiums, Simplified Application and Market Stabilization

Contact: Luke Clarke 720-496-2545

DENVER — Connect for Health Colorado opens for business Thursday, November 1, with rate increases lower than the state has seen in years, a streamlined application process that will save Coloradans time obtaining financial assistance and all seven health insurance companies are returning in 2019, in a sign of a stabilizing marketplace.

More than 130,000 Coloradans got help paying for health insurance in 2018. Renewing customers qualifying for financial help will see their net premium – their cost after the Advance Premium Tax Credit – go down 24% on average in 2019.

Connect for Health Colorado has introduced a streamlined financial help application that can take roughly half the time to complete as last year’s.

“We are committed to making enrolling in health insurance and getting financial help easier for everyone in our state who buys their own health insurance,” said Connect for Health Colorado Chief Executive Kevin Patterson. “This year that financial help was like an 80% discount on health insurance. Too many people assume they make too much to qualify for help.”

Analysis shows that three out of four of Coloradans who bought their health insurance with financial help through the Marketplace this year will have an option for health insurance with a net premium (after financial help) less than $50 per month in 2019.

Two out of three of the Connect for Health Colorado customers who qualify for financial help will be able to find a bronze level plan for $0 net premium. Bronze level plans are the lowest premium tier but come with higher deductibles and other out of pocket costs than silver and gold level plans.

The seven health insurance companies offering coverage through Connect for Health Colorado in 2018 are returning for 2019 with the similar number of plan offerings in each region of the state, a sign of a stabilizing market in Colorado.

Open Enrollment runs from November 1, 2018, to January 15, 2018, but consumers need to enroll by December 15 to have coverage in place by January 1, 2019.

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.  Since 2013, we’ve been helping individuals, families and small employers compare plans, apply for financial help and buy health insurance. As Colorado’s official health insurance marketplace, we are the only place to apply for financial help to lower the monthly cost of premiums. Customers can shop online; get help by phone or online chat from Customer Service Center representatives; and access expert, in-person help from a statewide network of certified Brokers and community-based Assisters. For more information:  ConnectforHealthCO.com