Connect for Health Colorado® and Colorado Medicaid Report Enrollment Gains

Curtis Hubbard, [email protected], 303-908-2378 (Connect for Health Colorado)
Marc Williams, [email protected],  303-866-3144  (Colorado Medicaid)

DENVER, CO – Between Nov. 15 and Dec. 31, more than 151,000 Coloradans enrolled in healthcare coverage for 2015, either in Medicaid, Child Health Plan Plus (CHP+) or in private health insurance purchased through the state health insurance Marketplace, according to new data released today by Connect for Health Colorado® and the Colorado Department of Health Care Policy and Financing.

“We are happy to see so many Coloradans taking the important step in protecting their families’ health and their financial security by obtaining health insurance coverage,” said Gary Drews, Connect for Health Colorado Interim CEO. “I want to remind everyone who has not yet acted that it’s not too late to purchase health insurance for 2015. Open enrollment continues until February 15.”

Those who want their coverage to take effect by Feb. 1, 2015, have until Jan. 15, 2015, to sign up for commercial health insurance through Connect for Health Colorado.  Policies purchased between Jan. 16, 2015, and the close of open enrollment on Feb. 15, 2015, will go into effect March 1.

Coloradans eligible for no- or low-cost coverage through Medicaid and CHP+ have no deadlines and can apply year-round.

The initial six weeks of open enrollment saw a total of 113,864 enrollments in private coverage through Connect for Health Colorado (20,790 people new  to the Marketplace and 93,074 re-enrollments from 2014); 35,981 in Medicaid; and 1,517 in CHP+.  Connect for Health Colorado also enrolled 19,068 individuals in dental plans.

Connect for Health Colorado health plan enrollments increased by 5,787 from Dec. 15 to Dec. 31, 2014. Dental plan enrollments increased by 993 during that period.

“Colorado continues to make progress in connecting citizens to the coverage they need,” said Sue Birch, Executive Director of the Colorado Department of Health Care Policy and Financing. “Health coverage is the first step to better health.” Medicaid and CHP+ are year-round programs that do not have open enrollment periods. Click here for a Fact Sheet detailing demographic and county by county breakouts for Medicaid enrollments

Nov. 15 – Dec. 31
Metrics010615  View county metrics

About the Colorado Department of Health Care Policy and Financing: The Department administers the Medicaid and Child Health Plan Plus programs as well as a variety of other programs for low-income Coloradans who qualify. For more information about the department, please visit Colorado.gov/hcpf.

About Connect for Health Colorado
Connect for Health Colorado is a public, non-profit entity established in law 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 apply for tax credits to help make their insurance more affordable. Customers can shop online; get help by phone or chat from expert Customer Service Center representatives; and find in-person assistance from certified brokers and agents, community based certified Health Coverage Guides or Certified Application Counselors. In 2014, the Marketplace enrolled more than 148,000 Coloradans in commercial insurance and helped nearly 100,000 gain access to new tax credits that made their health coverage more affordable – all while keeping fees among the lowest in the country.