Connect for Health Colorado® Board Names Consumer Health Policy Advocate as Chair

April 11, 2016
Contact: Luke Clarke 720-496-2545

DENVER — The Connect for Health Colorado® board of directors on Monday voted unanimously to name Adela Flores-Brennan chair of the 12-member panel, which oversees the state health insurance marketplace.

Flores-Brennan, the executive director of the Colorado Consumer Health Initiative (CCHI) and a former staff member at Connect for Health Colorado, was named to the board one year ago by Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper. She has worked for more than 16 years in law and public policy in Colorado, serving as director of community-based assistance programs at Connect for Health Colorado before taking the helm at CCHI, a statewide, non-profit advocacy group working on behalf of healthcare consumers.

She replaces Sharon O’Hara, executive vice president of the Colorado-Wyoming Chapter of the National Multiple Sclerosis Society, who has served as board chair since July 2014 and who continues her service on the board.

In accepting the position, Flores-Brennan praised O’Hara’s work as board chair.

“We, as a board, are grateful for Sharon’s resolute leadership and the countless hours she has devoted to expanding coverage for Coloradans,” Flores-Brennan said. “We have come a long way in the nearly two years that Sharon served as chair. The success we see in nearly every corner of the state during our most recent open enrollment is a testament to the value of her leadership.”

The Connect for Health Colorado board has nine voting members and three ex-officio members. They are appointed by Republican and Democratic leaders in the state Legislature and by the governor.

Other voting members of the board include: Steve ErkenBrack, president and chief executive officer of Rocky Mountain Health Plans; Nathan Wilkes, Founder and Principal Consultant Headstorms, Inc., an IT consulting firm; Marc Reece, senior director of state government affairs, Western Region, for Aetna; Jay Norris, an independent insurance broker; Denise O’Leary, a Denver businesswoman; Eric Grossman, president and CEO, NextHealth Technologies and Davis Fansler, a Telluride businessman.

Ex-officio members are David Padrino, Gov. Hickenlooper’s Chief Performance Officer; Marguerite Salazar, the state Commissioner of Insurance; and Sue Birch, executive director of the state department of Health Care Policy and Financing.

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.  It opened for business on Oct. 1, 2013, for individuals, families and small employers to compare and buy health insurance and is 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.