Time is flying and it is just about the end of October, which means our doors open next week officially for the Open Enrollment Period. In fact, the Division of Insurance released final rates this week, and I issued a statement about the outlook for our customers for next year.

Although overall rates are increasing an average of 10 percent statewide over 2022 premiums, many customers will be able to save money if they enroll in a different plan, rather than renew into their existing coverage. Residents who qualify for financial help can expect even more assistance to offset rising costs, resulting in modest increases ($20/month on average) to net premiums, and even net premium decreases for customers in the Western area of the state.

Additionally, with the passage of the American Rescue Plan Act in 2021 and the extension of financial assistance under the Inflation Reduction Act signed this August, even more Colorado residents are eligible for savings through our Marketplace.

Fixing the “Family Glitch”

This month, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) adopted a new regulation that will make it easier for Marketplace customers and their families who have an offer of health insurance from their job to qualify for financial help. When the Affordable Care Act first became law, employees and their households were often unable to qualify for savings because of a gap known as “the family glitch.” I’m very pleased that the regulatory change to address this gap is going into effect and that more customers can qualify for financial help. This year, we’ll direct customers who are impacted to contact our Customer Service Center for assistance.

In the News

I spoke with Public News Service about the affordability of plans and competition in Colorado this year, as well the expert enrollment help available our Marketplace.

The Colorado Sun and Colorado Public Radio covered the news about this year’s rates.

We are excited to open our doors next week, and will continue to share more about this year’s offerings as we kick things off.

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

I hope many of you had the opportunity to join us for the CoverCO conference this week, which felt like the pep rally to begin the Open Enrollment season. The conference included sessions about the new Colorado Option plans, the new OmniSalud Program, Connect for Health Colorado technology updates, and new this year, a session about the Colorado Agricultural Addiction and Mental Health Program. The keynote sessions about health equity and conflict resolution struck a cord for me and reinforced our values and ethics.

I appreciate so many of you taking the time to join us for the conference and for your contributions to Open Enrollment overall.

Bright Health Leaving Colorado
You might have also seen the news that Bright Health is withdrawing from Colorado’s health insurance market starting with the 2023 plan year. I released a statement about this news. And the Colorado Sun wrote about this change.

While I know this will cause a disruption for many, I’m confident in the number and the quality of the health plans that will be available for Coloradans shopping on our Marketplace for 2023. We will be able to share more about plan offerings very soon.

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

On this last day of September, we are counting down the days until our Open Enrollment Period begins. We will be able to share more about plan offerings in the coming weeks.

To help us all prepare, join us in just over a week for this year’s CoverCO conference, which will convene Oct. 11-13. This is an opportunity to reconnect, prepare for Open Enrollment, and discuss health policy changes. It will once again be hosted online.

This year’s agenda includes sessions about the new Colorado Option plans, the new OmniSalud Program, Colorado Connect, and many more sessions, so we are all prepared for this Open Enrollment Period. We will also have two keynote sessions – one about health equity and one about conflict resolution. Register here by Friday, Oct. 7.

Thank you to our planning committee and partners for making this conference informative and useful. I’ll see you online soon!

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

As the seasons change, it is a wonderful reminder that we are getting closer and closer to our Open Enrollment season. Our staff are hard at work preparing, and I look forward to sharing more about offerings on the Marketplace in the coming weeks.

Last week, a group of our staff and I traveled to Seattle to participate in the National Academy for State Health Policy conference. I enjoyed speaking to colleagues from other states and it was great to glean what is working in other states. I spoke on a panel with representatives from New York, New Jersey and Illinois, sharing what Colorado is doing to help make health coverage affordable. It was an honor to share our approach and the work we are doing to help move our mission of access, affordability and choice forward.

Take care, 

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

Earlier this week, I participated in a community event with Senators Hickenlooper and Bennett to celebrate the Inflation Reduction Act passing through the Senate.

Over the past few months, I have shared stories and data with our Senators and members of Congress about how these savings have made coverage more affordable. In many cases, they have changed lives. In our state, these enhanced subsidies lowered costs for 155,000 enrollees, reduced their average out-of-pocket costs by $900 per year and resulted in increased enrollments in rural communities across our state.

I’m grateful and extremely excited to plan for the three-year extension of additional ACA subsidies and to know we’re one important step closer to seeing this bill passed into law.

While we’re not quite done yet, I hope that the more than 200,000 Coloradans who rely on us to afford health insurance and get the health care that they need can rest a little bit easier knowing the Senate has crossed this milestone.

The bill is currently being debated in the House, where I hope for quick passage before it goes to President Biden for signature.

Take care, 

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

We welcomed two new board members this week. Governor Polis recently appointed Allison Neswood and Mara Baer, both of whom have impressive backgrounds in health policy and implementation work.

Allison Neswood is a Staff Attorney with the Native American Rights Fund, where she leads enforcement of voting rights for Native language minority groups. She previously worked for the Colorado Center on Law and Policy where she led initiatives to increase health equity and access to quality health care.

Mara Baer is the Founder and President of AgoHealth, LLC. Mara has worked on the implementation of the Affordable Care Act at the federal level, as well as supporting implementation of Health First Colorado through partnerships with Regional Accountable Entities and the Department of Health Care Policy and Financing.

Both Allison and Mara have a depth of knowledge and commitment to our mission, and I am delighted to have them on our board.

In the News

The Division of Insurance released preliminary information about the health insurance plans and premiums for 2023. The Denver Post and the Colorado Sun both covered the news. As a reminder, final rates come out in early to mid-October.

Take care, 

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

I shared the news that we added to our executive leadership team here at Connect for Health Colorado. Dr. T. Renata Robinson has joined our team as Chief Human Resources and Training Officer.

Her experience training leaders and advancing inclusive and equitable workplace practices will be crucial as our organization grows and as we serve a more diverse customer base.

I look forward to her contributions to our organization and our staff.

Take care, 

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

This week, I had the honor of joining Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) Administrator Chiquita Brooks-LaSure, Health and Human Services (HHS) Regional Director Lily Griego, and CMS Regional Administrator John Hannigan as they visited Colorado to discuss making health coverage more affordable and accessible, key pillars of our mission.

I joined the Administrator for a roundtable discussion hosted by the Denver Indian Center to discuss how we can best support efforts to meet the health care needs of Urban Indian communities. It was a far-reaching discussion, exploring best practices and challenges related to achieving health care equity and access. I thank all participants for their openness to explore such an important topic.

We also had the opportunity to meet with Mountain Family Health Center, one of our Assistance Network sites, to discuss the risks we will face if we don’t see Congress act on American Rescue Plan (ARP) extensions. Afterward, I joined the Administrator and Mountain Family Health Center for a national press call to share stories that illustrate how life changing the enhanced savings have been for families in rural Colorado.

Beginning last spring, we were able to offer thousands of new and existing customers increased access to savings thanks to the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021. The federal law expanded the amount of assistance people could receive to cover some or all the cost of their health insurance premium when shopping with Connect for Health Colorado through 2022.

Those enhanced marketplace subsidies have made a huge impact on the lives of Coloradans. Across all rural counties, expanded financial assistance led to a 19 percent increase in enrollments over last year, and a 16 percent decrease in those residents’ net premiums.

I’ve heard several stories about customers who had avoided buying health insurance due to cost. If these enhanced subsidies end, people who rely on marketplaces like Connect for Health Colorado to obtain affordable health insurance will lose some or all of their financial help or no longer being able to afford their coverage.

I hope the visit highlighted the great work we are doing in our state to continue to push for access, affordability and choice for individuals and small employers purchasing health insurance in Colorado.

Take care, 

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

Now that the legislative session is over, the governor has been busy signing bills into law. It was exciting to be part of the bill signing at the Capitol for SB-81, a bill that gives us additional resources to raise awareness about the Marketplace. I again want to thank the prime bill sponsors — Representatives Will and Tipper, Senators Smallwood and Donovan – for their willingness to work with us and our Board to make sure this legislation has the greatest impact possible to increase access, affordability, and choice for people buying health insurance in Colorado.

I released a statement about what this bill means to us. We know that access to affordable health coverage starts with Coloradans knowing about the options available to them, and this law will enable us to do more outreach. With the additional marketing and outreach, we hope to keep working toward our goal of helping individuals and families attain and retain the right health care coverage for their needs and financial circumstances. Over the next several months, we will work on implementation plans and share them later this year.

Take care, 

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