To Our Valued Stakeholders,

We are continuing to watch closely the debate in the Senate over the Republican-backed alternative to the Affordable Care Act. The decision not to put the Better Care Reconciliation Act (BCRA) up for a vote this week, as earlier promised, does not mean the measure is dead. A revised version of the bill is expected to go to the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) for scoring while Congress is on its July 4 recess.

The CBO score released Monday said the measure would cause 22 million people to lose health insurance coverage, setting off vocal protests and stalling the bill’s progress. The biggest losses in coverage would be in Medicaid recipients but the bill would also bring an increase in net premiums to many Marketplace customers, demonstrated at the county level in this interactive map produced by the Kaiser Family Foundation.

In Recent News

For our customers, proposed changes to financial assistance would hit hardest in rural counties, according to a recent report on Colorado by the National Academy for State Health Policy, which was reported in The Denver Post.

A group of 40 economists —six of whom are Nobel prize winners —publicly opposed the Senate bill in a letter to leadership urging legislation that would work to improve the care delivery system and make improvements to the existing law, rather than repeal it. The letter was first reported by Vox.com.

It’s been a long week for all of us. I hope you all can find time to enjoy your family and friends over the July 4 holiday.

Take care,

Kevin

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

To Our Valued Stakeholders,

We were of course pleased this week with the news that all our health insurance company partners filed plans to return to the market in 2018. With carriers leaving markets in other states, the news got a lot of attention in The Denver Post and other media.

Residents in all of Colorado’s 64 counties will still have at least one health insurance company offering coverage through Connect for Health Colorado under these filings. This news speaks well of our strong partnerships with the state Division of Insurance and the seven health insurance companies offering coverage to our customers.

In Recent News

The Senate healthcare bill was released Thursday.

We are still analyzing the bill but our initial reading is that it would drastically reduce financial support that thousands of Coloradans rely on to buy their own health insurance.

The proposed changes to eligibility in the bill would eliminate assistance for more than 10,000 Coloradans who bought insurance through us this year.

Reducing tax credit assistance would strike the hardest blow in rural communities where already too many people cannot afford health insurance.

We are urging policy makers to find solutions that make health insurance affordable to more people and this measure would not meet that goal.

Take care,

Kevin

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

To Our Valued Stakeholders,

For years at Connect for Health Colorado our planning has been defined by Open Enrollment cycles. Before the books are closed on one, the planning for the next Open Enrollment is launched with a tight focus on technology changes, improvements to customer service and expanding coverage.

Last year our board undertook in earnest a strategic planning process that will take our organization on the path to accomplish our mission over the next three years. The board set four goals:

• Advocate to improve access to coverage in rural areas of Colorado.
• Maximize the number of consumer and employers who shop and enroll through the health insurance Marketplace, and apply for available financial assistance.
• Improve the ability of customers to attain and retain the right coverage for their needs.
• Ensure that Connect for Health Colorado is a healthy and thriving organization.

Since then, our staff has been developing a set of objectives to meet those goals. Under those objectives we have defined success measures to track our progress and we have developed strategies to achieve that progress.

Stakeholders and interested members of the public have provided comment in board committee and advisory group meetings along the way. Now, with the product nearing completion, we have posted the most current draft for your review.

The board will take up final adoption of the plan at its July 10 meeting.

Take care,

Kevin

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

To Our Valued Stakeholders,

I hope that all of you had a chance to enjoy time with family and friends over the Memorial Day weekend. We have all been dealing with a great deal of uncertainty about our work as the healthcare debate played out at the state and national level the last six months.

Now, as most of the world moves into summer vacation season, we are preparing for the next Open Enrollment Period with the same mission we have pursued for six years — to increase access, affordability and choice for individuals and small employers buying health insurance in Colorado.

Despite the uncertainty, I want to assure our customers, our partners, our stakeholders and all of our staff members that we are here to connect Coloradans to health insurance coverage for 2018.

We are coming up on some key dates that will shape the 2018 Open Enrollment:

• June 19 – Deadline for health insurance companies to file proposed individual and small group plans and premiums for the 2018 plan year with the state Division of Insurance (DOI).
• July 14 – The proposed plans and premiums become available to the public.
• Aug. 4 – Deadline for public comment.
• Late Summer / Early Fall – The DOI releases approved 2018 plans and premiums.
• Nov. 1 – Open Enrollment for 2018 begins.

In Recent News

You may not have seen that our own Gov. John Hickenlooper, a Democrat, has joined Republican Gov. John Kasich in a group of governors working to preserve Medicaid and stabilize the private individual health insurance market. The Columbus (Ohio) Dispatch reports the governors are putting together a bipartisan group of governors to develop ideas to pass on to the U.S. Senate for its healthcare legislation.

With the state Legislature in recess and the pace of the federal debate moderating, I will be reducing the frequency of these communications. You can expect to hear from me when developments dictate and at least once a month during the months leading to Open Enrollment.

Take care,

Kevin

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

To Our Valued Stakeholders,

Wednesday’s release of the Congressional Budget Office score of American Health Care Act reheated the healthcare debate with a projection that 23 million people would lose coverage in 10 years if the measure were to pass in its current form.

As troubling as these projections are, it’s worth remembering the bill is given little chance of passing in the Senate, where work is expected to start soon on new legislation.

America’s Health Insurance Plans (AHIP) weighed in with a nine-page letter to the Senate this week. The letter outlines a number of areas where federal policy makers could stabilize the individual health insurance market in the short term and in the long term.

In Recent News

The most pressing market stabilization measure AHIP recommended is continued funding of Cost Share Reduction (CSR) payments. For those who qualify, CSR payments help pay out of pocket expenses. As a recent Commonwealth Fund brief points out, they can make or break the bottom line for health insurance companies.

The effect the potential loss of CSR payments has on health insurance premiums was made clear Thursday in North Carolina, where Blue Cross and Blue Shield filed for an average 22.9 percent rate increase in 2018, saying it would be only 8.8 percent if Congress funded CSRs, according to an article in the News & Observer of Raleigh.

Take care and enjoy your holiday weekend,

Kevin

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

To Our Valued Stakeholders,

The Commonwealth Fund looked at enrollment in health insurance marketplaces in the recently concluded fourth Open Enrollment Period. Four states — Colorado, Massachusetts, Minnesota and Washington — achieved double-digit growth in plan selections, while growth slowed in other states and even declined in some.

The report said that nine of the 17 states who control some or all of their marketplace functions saw gains. We were, of course, pleased to be listed among the top gainers.

Legislative Update

The Colorado General Assembly wrapped up business for the year on Wednesday without acting on the Senate bill that would have repealed Connect for Health Colorado. The measure, which brought daylong testimony in support of our operations during a February committee hearing, did not advance out of the state Senate. The bill’s sponsor told the Denver Business Journal that he plans to continue to work on the measure.

In Recent News

National Public Radio interviewed Gov. Hickenlooper on the American Health Care Act (AHCA), passed last week by the House of Representatives. The governor said it would impact state spending by more than $1.5 billion without improving coverage.

Voters favor the Affordable Care Act (ACA) over the AHCA by a wide margin, according to a Morning Consult/POLITICO poll. For the ACA, 50% of voters approve and 42% disapprove, while the AHCA got 38% approval and 44% disapproval.

We have added a new resource to our website outlining our Priorities for Health Reform. You will find it on our Healthcare Reform Policy page with other documents relevant to the healthcare policy debate.

I’ll be taking a week off these updates next week but we will continue to keep you informed as we move forward.

Take care,

Kevin

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

To Our Valued Stakeholders,

Thursday’s vote in the U.S. House of Representatives is dominating news coverage as the debate at the federal level moves to the U.S. Senate.  The New York Times provided analysis of the current measure, as did the Health Affairs Blog.

I think it’s important to remember this vote is one step in a long process and the legislation is expected to change in the Senate. Health insurance industry reaction, from America’s Health Insurance Plans (AHIP), focused on opportunities to improve the bill in that chamber. Already, Republican senators are talking of writing their own bill, according to the Washington Post. Any changes in the Senate would have to go back to the House so we are a long way from seeing the final direction of this legislation.

We continue to work with our representatives at the state and federal level to protect the health coverage of all Coloradans and find solutions to the challenge of increasing access, affordability and choice.

Board Update

We will update our board of directors on our strategic plan when they meet Monday. We will also review with the board budget scenarios for next year.

In Recent News

Nearly lost in all of the attention focused on the debate around the House bill was encouraging news reported by Consumer Reports on the positive impact the Affordable Care Act has had on personal bankruptcies. The number was cut in half after the law took effect, demonstrating the impact medical expenses have on personal budgets. Colorado saw a similar reduction, according to the 2015 Colorado Health Access Survey (page 22).

Take care,

Kevin

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

To Our Valued Stakeholders,

We are at the point on the calendar when we anticipate our health insurance company partners filing their plan offerings and rates for the coming year. The Division of Insurance this week announced the deadlines for filing and the timetable for review and approval.

The timetable is a little different from previous years, because of the uncertainty the current policy debate has built up around the individual market. The filings are due June 19. They will be made public July 14 and finalization will come in late summer or early fall.

Legislative Update

House Bill 17-1235, which is the measure that would provide financial assistance to some Coloradans with income falling between 400% and 500% of the federal poverty level, was killed in a committee vote on Monday. The outcome was disappointing and it means the preparation work that we have accomplished will be put on the shelf for now. But we will continue to work with rural legislators, county commissioners, business owners, other state and county officials on how Connect for Health Colorado can help solve the thorny problem of the high costs of health insurance coverage in the rural regions of our state.

In Recent News

I hope that you saw the Washington Post/ABC News poll released this week that found significant support for keeping the Affordable Care Act and making it work as well as possible.

Cost Sharing Reduction (CSR) payments provide crucial help lowering out-of-pocket costs for folks who qualify but they are also vital to health insurance companies in the individual market. AHIP (America’s Health Insurance Plans), an industry advocacy group, issued a statement yesterday from medical professionals, health insurers and other business leaders urging the continuation of CSRs.

Take care,

Kevin

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

To Our Valued Stakeholders,

I think all of us recognize a higher than usual level of uncertainty around the individual health insurance market at a time when health insurance companies should be finalizing their rates and plans for the coming year. Yesterday, Colorado’s Insurance Commissioner, Marguerite Salazar pointed that out in a letter to the nine members of the state’s congressional delegation.

The announcement prompted some coverage in The Denver Post and the Denver Business Journal.

Legislative Update

House Bill 17-1235, which is the measure that would provide financial assistance to some Coloradans with income falling between 400% and 500% of the federal poverty level, was passed out of the State House on Monday and was assigned to the Senate State, Veterans, & Military Affairs Committee. A hearing is scheduled this coming Monday.

In Recent News

A one-page summary of proposed amendments to the American Health Care Act became public yesterday and fanned coverage of renewed efforts by Republicans in Congress. According to a Health Affairs article, the package could be considered as early as next Thursday. This piece in Politico assesses the politics around the renewed conversation.

Two reports this week highlighted Colorado’s gains in signing up the “eligible but not enrolled” population. According to this Kaiser Family Foundation chart, Colorado saw the third highest rate in the country of increased Medicaid and CHP+ enrollments. In a fresh analysis of its 2015 data, the Colorado Health Institute noted our significant gains and those by Health First Colorado in reaching these folks.

Take care,

Kevin

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

April 10, 2017

Contact: Luke Clarke 720-496-2545
[email protected]

DENVER – The average household savings on health insurance purchased through Connect for Health Colorado® this year is $369 a month, according to an analysis released today by the state health insurance marketplace, up from an average $294 a month last year.

The savings come in the form of a federal tax credit applied to monthly insurance premiums for qualifying individuals and families who enroll in health insurance through Connect for Health Colorado®.

Overall, Coloradans received $318 million in tax credits in 2016.

Today’s report includes a county-level look at average premiums and tax credits for 2017. It covers enrollments during the three-month open enrollment period (Nov. 1, 2016-Jan. 31, 2017), as well as the “special enrollment period” that extended through March 2 for many Coloradans whose 2016 coverage was not available for 2017.

Customers selected 178,415 medical and/or dental plans through Connect for Health Colorado (including 174,678 medical) in the period between Nov. 1, 2016, and  March 2, 2017, according to the detailed report published on the Connect for Health Colorado web site.

“The impact our financial assistance program has in helping Coloradans protect their health and finances is clear in this report,” said Kevin Patterson, Connect for Health Colorado CEO. “We could not achieve this success without the help of our partners – in particular our Assistance Network, our licensed Brokers and our insurance company partners who support our mission to increase access, affordability and choice in health coverage for our state.”

A network of 961 certified brokers, 110 Health Coverage Guides and 290 Certified Application Counselors worked to assist Coloradans enrolling in healthcare coverage with seven health insurance carriers through the state marketplace.

Average tax credit by county: click here.

Enrollment by county: click here.

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. For more information: www.connectforhealthco.com