The energy and anticipation in our office is unmistakable as we gear up for Thursday’s launch of our sixth Open Enrollment Period. With our new eligibility system in place, our renewing financially assisted customers seeing an average drop of 24 percent in their net premium and all seven of our health insurance company partners returning for 2019, we have reason to be optimistic.

We will be making some final pre-Open Enrollment updates to our system during a 6-hour downtime from 12 a.m. to 6 a.m. Monday (October 29) so we will be ready for November 1. After that, it’s all systems go.

Public Charge

We have been getting questions about the potential impact of proposed changes to federal regulations broadening the definition of who is a “public charge” when immigrants seek certain adjustments to their status. We have posted this one-page resource on our site, which includes contact information for several immigration attorneys who can advise Colorado families.

In the News

Two federal proposals were prominent in health insurance industry news this week. One is a proposal to allow employers to use Health Reimbursement Arrangements to assist their workers buying individual health insurance and (for employers of 50 or more) meet the requirement to provide health insurance. Healthcare Finance had this explanation.

The second was CMS guidance giving states more latitude in deciding what kind of health plans can be offered through marketplaces and be eligible for Advance Premium Tax Credit support in plan year 2020 through a 1332 waiver, as reported by Kaiser Health News.

It’s a little early to predict how these measures play out in Colorado but they bear watching.

Take care,

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