Special Enrollment Period Extension

To Our Valued Stakeholders,

Last week, Connect for Health Colorado sponsored, and I attended, Colorado Municipal League’s annual conference. I realize many folks see our marketplace as just a place for people who don’t have health plan options from their job. However, in the past few years, there have been some changes that make it possible for us to offer financial help to families who have been shut out in the past, as well as ICHRAs as an alternative to traditional group health plans. So, I was eager to learn from the people who keep our towns, cities, and counties running and to share a bit more with them about our marketplace.

The conversations give me invaluable perspective on how our state is changing and how we can help solve problems regarding access to affordable health coverage in regions like northern and eastern Colorado, or at least understand them better. Since these discussions, I’ve been thinking deeply about where we can grow our marketplace presence north of metro Denver and how we can better partner with anchor institutions, like hospitals, in rural Colorado. I enjoyed sharing the luncheon with Mead Mayor Colleen Whitlow and some of the Mead Board of Trustees. It was my pleasure to sponsor the event. It was an important place for connection, and I hope to keep learning from local government employees and leaders.

People Losing Medicaid Coverage Have More Time to Enroll in Health Insurance

Earlier this week, the Colorado Division of Insurance (DOI) announced that it has extended the special enrollment window for people who are no longer qualify for Health First Colorado (Colorado’s Medicaid program) coverage due to the end of the Public Health Emergency (PHE). Folks in this situation now have through November 30, 2024 to enroll in health insurance through Connect for Health Colorado. The previous deadline was July 31.

Since last year, we’ve seen nearly 19,000 Coloradans sign up for plans on our Marketplace after losing their Medicaid coverage as a result of the pandemic protections ending. I’m truly grateful we can offer people robust financial help – with the enhanced premium tax credits in place, 3 out of 5 customers can find a plan for $10 per month or less – and an abundance of free, local enrollment assistance.

In light of the special enrollment period extension, I’d appreciate your help sharing outreach materials with your networks as part of the Keep Coloradans Covered campaign.

Take care,

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

Making strides in increasing access and affordability

To Our Valued Stakeholders,

During the last few days in April, I visited Washington D.C. for an event organized by the National Academy for State Health Policy. I was one of 19 directors of state-based marketplaces invited to visit with the White House. We received a strong show of support when we arrived. We met with the Deputy Secretary of Health and Human Services, members of the Domestic Policy Council, and leadership from the department that oversees our work: the Center for Consumer Information and Insurance Oversight (CCIIO). We also had the opportunity to meet with both the Republican and Democratic committees and leadership staff.

I was honored to share with our federal partners directly how much we appreciated their support for the enhanced premium tax credits as well as the regulatory changes that have increased access and affordability. We also discussed the value of state-based marketplaces, our wins, highlights of Open Enrollment, populations we’re reaching during the Medicaid Unwind, and the health equity initiatives we’re launching. I was pleased to share how Colorado has been on the forefront of using Individual Coverage Health Reimbursement Arrangements (ICHRAs) to get folks covered, leveraging ICHRAs with our exchange employees while our brokers use ICHRAs to help get people enrolled in rural counties.

We also shared our concerns. The biggest one being that the enhanced subsidies provided by the federal government are set to go away after Dec. 31, 2025. These enhanced premium tax credits have been in place since 2021 and have made coverage significantly more affordable. For example, this year, with financial help applied, 60 percent of our customers could find a plan for $10 or less per month. I’m doing everything I can to illustrate to our federal partners that if these enhanced subsidies end, people who rely on marketplaces like Connect for Health Colorado to obtain health insurance will be at risk of losing financial help or no longer being able to afford their coverage.

As I departed our nation’s capital, I felt immense gratitude for the opportunity to collaborate with other state-based marketplace directors and our federal partners. While we may see things from our different perspectives, it’s clear we’re aligned in trying to keep as many people covered as possible and being as creative as we can to meet customer needs.

DACA Recipients Will Be Eligible for Marketplace Plans

Last Friday, the Department of Health and Human Services published a final rule that will allow DACA recipients to enroll in a plan through Connect for Health Colorado starting later this fall. This is a really big deal and is an issue we’ve been monitoring for a while.

Currently, we offer health plans and financial help to about 11,000 people in Colorado who are undocumented, including DACA recipients, via the OmniSalud program. This program’s financial help is made possible by our state’s Health Insurance Affordability Enterprise and has been limited. I’m hopeful this change will open some of the limited financial help available in our OmniSalud program this coming year and allow even more people to get covered.

In general, I’m grateful for the strides the Administration has made in improving access and affordability through regulatory changes. And I’m very glad for this latest update that allows DACA recipients to shop on our Marketplace. Staff are already developing our plan to implement this change, and we’ll be ready to help current and new customers navigate their eligibility come fall. This change makes sense for our business, and it upholds our mission to increase access, affordability, and choice for all the people of Colorado in need of health coverage.

Take care,

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

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In The News

I had the pleasure of speaking with business reporter Analisa Romano of the Denver Business Journal about my career and how it brought me to this role as leader of Colorado’s health insurance exchange. Grab your coffee and read the profile here.

Illustrating the Impact of Financial Help in Colorado

We have provided thousands of Coloradans with increased access to savings thanks to the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (ARPA) and Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) of 2023. The federal laws expanded the amount of assistance people can receive towards their health insurance premium when shopping through an Affordable Care Act health insurance marketplace—like Connect for Health Colorado— through 2025.

Some facts I shared about Colorado with our federal partners…

• Every Open Enrollment since the passage of ARPA and IRA has broken enrollment records- 2024 was our most successful Open Enrollment period in history at over 237,000 people covered. This includes a 41% increase in financially assisted enrollments from 2021.
• Customers aged 55 and older have decreased their net premiums by 73% due to the enhanced subsidies.
• Enhanced subsidies are especially impactful in rural Colorado. Expanded financial assistance led to a 40% enrollment increase between 2021 and 2024 across all rural counties, and on average, a 53% increase to their monthly financial assistance.
• Removing the income limit for financial help eligibility helps middle class Coloradans. 34,000 Coloradans in 2024 are receiving financial help for which they would have been ineligible without removal of the income limit.

Legislative session update

To Our Valued Stakeholders,

On Wednesday, we published our annual Open Enrollment report. This year’s By the Numbers report details how improvements to our technology and operations, changes to federal law, innovative state laws, and a statewide network of certified experts contributed to nearly 250,000 Coloradans signing up for a health insurance plan by the end of the Open Enrollment Period.

This year’s Open Enrollment data tells me that Connect for Health Colorado is succeeding in our efforts to expand access, affordability, and choice for Coloradans. We know we’ve still got a way to go, but the report’s findings illustrate that we are moving in the right direction. I’m very proud to look back at our eleventh Open Enrollment and see that we’re breaking our previous year’s enrollment records, increasing efficiencies, improving the customer experience in major ways, and running innovative programs that truly drive affordability and enrollments.

You can find more data about plan selection trends, average costs and savings in your county, Colorado Option plan sign ups, outreach and marketing strategies to reach eligible Coloradans, and more in the By the Numbers Open Enrollment Report for Plan Year 2024.
 
Legislative Session Update
We have just about five weeks left of legislative session, and there arethree bills that our board of directors has taken a support position on. If they become law, here’s how they will impact our customers and work:

• House Bill 1035 would not create any major impacts to our work, but it would streamline the requirements for the official reports that the Communications, Marketing, and Business Intelligence teams produce for the legislature each year. The bill has passed and is awaiting the Governor’s signature.
• Senate Bill 93 would provide continuous health coverage to people with serious medical conditions who are switching between types of coverage. This includes Coloradans transitioning from Medicaid to private health insurance. This bill has also passed and is awaiting the Governor’s signature. Read our support statement here.
• House Bill 1258 would help customers when a health insurance company leaves the market in the middle of a plan year by requiring the customer’s new health insurance company to honor their former accumulator costs, like their deductible and out-of-pocket maximum. This bill is currently in the Senate Appropriations Committee. Read our support statement here.

Take care,

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

To Our Valued Stakeholders,

On Monday, our Board of Directors took a support position for Senate Bill 24-093, Continuity of Health-Care Coverage Change. This bill will ensure that Coloradans who are no longer eligible for Health First Colorado (Colorado’s Medicaid program) or the Child Health Plan Plus (CHP+) program can continue treatment for their serious medical conditions for 90 days without fear of out-of-network balance billing. We know that coverage transitions can be a stressful period for people losing Medicaid regardless of health condition, but Coloradans with serious medical conditions and those getting ongoing treatments are in an especially vulnerable situation. I hope this bill can also help provide greater peace of mind for people as they continue critical treatments.

Since the spring of 2023, we’ve seen thousands more Coloradans coming to our Marketplace after losing their Medicaid coverage. You may have heard this described as the “Medicaid unwind,” or the end of COVID-19 pandemic protections that kept Medicaid enrollees continuously enrolled even if they became ineligible. Our enrollment experts continue to be on the front lines of helping these folks, and they’ve relayed the concerns and challenges from customers about continuity of critical care. We applaud the bill sponsors, Senator Michaelson-Jenet and Representative Amabile, and the many stakeholders who worked tirelessly to craft this important legislation.

Read our full statement in support of SB24-093.

Celebrating a Technological Milestone
I’m pleased to share that, this month, Connect for Health Colorado finalized our own fully functional connection with the Federal Data Services Hub (FDSH). This is a milestone in our work to own our technology, and a new level of organizational maturity. FDSH connections are the country’s gateways to accessing federal data. We use an FDSH connection to verify information about our customers, like their identity, household income, and more. This achievement will reduce security risks and make our systems more sustainable, more resilient, and more responsive to compliance requests. This outcome has been years in the making, and I’m very proud of our staff who made it possible.

Take care,

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

Funding Opportunity for Enrollment Assistance

To Our Valued Stakeholders,

I spent the earlier portion of the week in Washington, D.C. to connect with the broker community and some of our federal partners.

I was invited to speak on a panel at NABIP’s national conference about how we’re driving positive change in Colorado. I was pleased to share about innovations we’ve pursued in our state, like the Health Insurance Affordability Enterprise and our public benefit corporation and second shopping platform, Colorado Connect. More specifically, I shared how brokers are a crucial part of our success in implementing federal and state policy changes and how we rely on them more than ever to expertly guide people through expanded financial help and plan options. As we looked closer at our broker support data over the years, we found that, on average, 60 percent of all enrollments have come through brokers– one of the highest rates of broker support in the nation.

While I was there, I also met with federal partners at CCIIO to tell them about the progress we’ve made on compliance projects and shared our strategy for approaching the upcoming compliance work we’re expecting. I’m grateful to have these big picture conversations as we plan our future work in Colorado and as we collaborate with partners to identify the right solutions to meet our shared needs.

Funding Opportunity for Enrollment Assistance
Our partners provide a crucial one-on-one service to help Coloradans get covered. They help us make sure local communities, especially those who face barriers in getting health coverage, can access the plans and savings we offer. Now through April 10, we are requesting applications from organizations to operate Assistance Sites, Certified Application Counselor locations, Enrollment Centers, and Referral Partner locations across the state.

We welcome applications from community-based organizations, medical facilities, associations, ranching and farming organizations, chambers of commerce, unions, state and local human service agencies, certified brokers and broker agencies, and other organizations. We strive to create the most robust, responsive partnership network possible, so please do check out this opportunity, or share it with people in your network who may be interested.

Take care,

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

Reflections on Using Data to Motivate and Guide Our Work

To Our Valued Stakeholders,

Yesterday, the Colorado Health Institute published the 2023 Colorado Health Access Survey.  I always look forward to the survey’s findings to better understand the factors influencing health outcomes in our state. I want to understand how people are doing and reflect on what our organization can be doing to help address persistent gaps in health coverage.

The survey showed the uninsured rate dropped to a historic low of 4.6 percent in 2023. However, with the official public health emergency over and people losing eligibility for Medicaid, we expect that figure to change. One of our areas of focus continues to be helping people transition coverage from Medicaid to our Marketplace. For this coming year, we have prioritized helping these people stay covered through various outreach campaigns, including calls, texts, letters, public service announcements, and community-based outreach. If you want to help raise awareness, please check out the dedicated #KeepCOCovered website page and the resources available.

The survey also found that cost remains the biggest factor in people going uninsured. It shared that some people struggle to find sources to learn about their health care. We know that our Marketplace can help with both of these issues in a major way: we have more financial help for premiums and out-of-pocket costs than ever before, and we offer free enrollment help and education from experts who can walk people through all their health insurance options.

First, these findings underscore to me how important it is that the Health Insurance Affordability Enterprise exists. I’m grateful we have a mechanism to provide extra financial help for our customers above and beyond the federal tax credits and cost-sharing reductions. Over the past three years, tens of thousands of Coloradans have enrolled in plans with extra cost-sharing reductions attached thanks to the Enterprise.

Second, the findings illustrate how we’ve come so far, but we’ve still got a way to go when it comes to people knowing who we are and what we do. I’ve been busy since Open Enrollment ended connecting with leaders of businesses, local governments, and community-based organizations. It’s important to me to stay in tune with people in Colorado communities and remind them of how we help folks learn about their health care coverage in addition to signing them up.

Please note, our Customer Service Center will be closed this Monday, February 19 in observation of President’s Day.

Take care,

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

The close of business Wednesday marked the end of our eleventh Open Enrollment Period and my tenth at the helm of Connect for Health Colorado. I’m genuinely in awe of how far we’ve come as an organization since I came on board, which was shortly after the end of the very first Open Enrollment.

We reported yesterday that 237,107 people have enrolled in a 2024 health insurance plan. That is about 18 percent higher than last year’s end of Open Enrollment total of 201,758 enrollments and is our biggest enrollment period– ever. Also a record high, 77 percent of customers are receiving financial help to reduce premiums. 

Additionally, 12,485 people enrolled in a health insurance plan through Colorado Connect. (As a reminder, that’s our public benefit corporation and online platform we launched last year.) That brings our end of Open Enrollment total across both of our shopping platforms to nearly 250,000 lives covered.

Next, our data teams will be conducting an in-depth analysis of enrollment data. We will publish a report with more information and findings this spring. And while the Open Enrollment Period has closed for 2024 coverage, people can still enroll if they have a qualifying life event.

Connecting with Community Partners & Policymakers

Last Friday, I attended the Martin Luther King Jr. Business Awards luncheon. It was a pleasure to connect with business and community leaders and to sponsor an event that honors exemplary social responsibility. As a reminder, you can request for Connect for Health Colorado to sponsor events in your community. We see sponsorships as a vital piece of our outreach strategy. I know that that, while we’ve made great strides, there’s still plenty of folks who don’t know what “Connect for Health Colorado” is and what we do. So, as we like to say here, we’re about meeting people where they are.

Yesterday, I presented to the SMART Act committee about our organization, our accomplishments this Open Enrollment Period, and our efforts to make it a success. It was my pleasure to speak to and answer questions from the committee. I look forward to strengthening our relationships with these policymakers.

Annual Reports

We recently published the 2023 Annual Report for Connect for Health Colorado and 2023 Annual Report for Colorado Connect.

Take care,

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

Monday, January 15 is the enrollment deadline

The annual Open Enrollment Period can feel like a race toward our deadlines, the last of which is upon us this Monday, January 15. Following the national trend, this enrollment period has been one for the books here in Colorado. We announced last week that, so far, more than 222,000 people have signed up for a health insurance plan, a new record for our Marketplace.

But as I reflect on the nature of our work—our commitment to Coloradans from all backgrounds, the years-long investments to maximize the customer experience, how we’ve continued to break our own enrollment records year over year— I really see it as a marathon. While Open Enrollment ends in just a few days, our work for the year to support our new and returning customers is just beginning.

I want to express my deepest gratitude to our network of community partners and enrollment partners. Many of you have put in countless hours to help people get the affordable, quality health coverage that they need and make this Open Enrollment a success.

Thank you for helping to remind people in your networks of the coming deadline, and all the resources and help we have available.

Reminder

Please note that Connect for Health Colorado’s Customer Service Center will be closed on Monday, January 15 in observance of Martin Luther King Jr. Day. Customers can still complete their enrollments online or with the assistance of a certified Broker or Assister.

Take care,

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

To Our Valued Stakeholders,

As I reflect on the Open Enrollment Period so far, I am overwhelmed with gratitude and appreciation for the response we’ve seen. Last week, on Get Covered Day, we reported that more than 184,000 people enrolled in a health plan so far. That figure is nearly 30 percent ahead of last year, and, for additional perspective, surpasses the total enrollments we saw by the end of Open Enrollment in 2021. And while we’re seeing large volumes of signups, we’re also seeing our smoothest enrollment year yet. People are getting through the enrollment process with ease online, over the phone, and with their Brokers or Assisters.

I want to express my sincerest thank you to you all, our valued stakeholders, who have worked diligently to increase access, affordability, and choice in health care coverage in Colorado. Because of you, more people can afford to cover themselves and their families and have peace of mind heading into the new year.

Reminder on Enrolling for January Coverage
As you may know, today is the deadline for Coloradans to enroll in a health insurance plan that begins Jan. 1, 2024. However, Colorado offers flexibility—what we call our “in-line extension”— to customers who started their plan enrollments or made changes by today to enroll up to two business days after the deadline. If you know someone who couldn’t complete their enrollment by today, please let them know they have until Tuesday, Dec. 19 at 6 p.m. to enroll, but they must call our Customer Service Center at 855-752-6749 to do so. We’re here to make the process as easy as possible for folks, so don’t hesitate to give us a call.

In the News
Last week, The Colorado Sun hosted a panel discussion with myself, Insurance Commissioner Mike Conway, and certified broker Meagan Fearing all about choosing the plan that’s best for you. You can share this guide for a summary of our tips and advice for this year.

Take care,

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

Thankful for the partners who make this success possible 

This week, we announced that our marketplace enrollments are up 27 percent from last year. Currently, 82 percent of people are qualifying for financial help. While we expect to see enrollment and financial help fluctuations over the next nine weeks, this pace could lead to our biggest enrollment year yet. I attribute this early success to our staff as well as our partners at the Division of Insurance, our network of community partners, and our enrollment partners.   

Thanks to the Division of Insurance and Health Insurance Affordability Enterprise, we were able to provide more people with financial help for our OmniSalud program. This program has been so impactful and become so popular that we ended up filling the maximum allotment of spots for financial help on the second day of Open Enrollment. The Enterprise also allows us to provide more financial help to people on our marketplace in the form of enhanced cost-sharing reductions. This year, people at higher income levels may be able to save thousands of dollars when they go to the doctor or get prescriptions, thanks to this innovative, state-funded program.  

I also want to express my deepest gratitude to our network of community partners and enrollment partners. They have put in countless hours to help Coloradans get the affordable, quality health coverage that they need. They are all an essential part of our marketplace work, and we could not do this without them. 

Help Us Spread the Word 

If you want to share about Open Enrollment with your constituents or community, please use our Open Enrollment Electronic Toolkit. The materials are web-friendly, easily readable, and interactive, and they are available in English and Spanish. 

In the News   

AARP release an in-depth guide on how to sign up for ACA health insurance in Colorado and what’s new for this year. 

Take care,  

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