CONTACT:
Curtis Hubbard, [email protected], 303-908-2378

«Connect for Health Colorado just concluded its second open-enrollment period, a three-month span in which we enrolled about 140,000 Coloradans in private health insurance.

You may have seen media reports claiming this number failed to meet our expectations.  While we know that we can always do better, I think it’s important at this juncture — particularly given how hard our staff, our Brokers, our Health Coverage Guides, our Carrier partners and other key stakeholders worked on behalf of our customers over the last three  months — to set the record straight.

Earlier this year, as part of our regular budgeting forecast, we developed a range of projections for total enrollments for year-end 2015 — the mid-range of which was 194,277. Again, it’s important to note that this is a year-end projection.

For context, remember that, at the end of open enrollment in April of 2014, Connect for Health Colorado had enrolled 128,000 customers. Each month after, we continued to enroll a significant number of Coloradans (4,000 per month average) who experienced life change events — taking our total for the calendar year to more than 150,000 enrollments.

As of February 19 we had 139,652 enrollees —a 9% increase over the first open enrollment period, which lasted  twice as long. Less than 2 months into this year, we are at 72% of the mid-range, year-end goal.

We will be paying close attention to enrollment and other data in coming months as we develop our 2016 budget, and will keep you all advised on additional developments.»

Gary Drews
Interim CEO
Connect for Health Colorado

Connect for Health Colorado® leadership and staff take their stewardship of public dollars very seriously and agree with the guidance from the State Auditor’s Office.

A number of federal and state agencies have closely and continuously monitored us since 2011. They have approved our operations, policies and procedures while we worked to create a new enterprise in a complex, evolving environment, under tight deadlines and shifting federal regulations.

We welcome the input and the transparency. All of the more than two dozen federal and independent audits and reviews have brought tremendous value to us as a start-up, and we have implemented their recommendations to improve the organization.  Although the tone and content of the state audit differ from previous reviews, we agree with the recommendations. We have already implemented many changes and have committed to adopting all of them.

Over the past year, starting the day we opened our doors to the public on October 1, 2013, our staff and partners have been working to achieve an ambitious mission. Our success is evident in the 160,000 customers we have connected to effective health insurance and robust participation in the Marketplace by health and dental plans in Colorado.

We feel we have accomplished a great deal and that there is still room for improvement. We will continue working with our Board, the Legislative Implementation Review Committee, our state partners, and our stakeholder groups to ensure ongoing, sound management.

This headline is no surprise to the thousands of you who have been working so hard over the past year to get Coloradans covered and looking for this next period.  We’ve said many times that changing the lives of Coloradans will be a marathon, not a sprint. But, you have already played a pivotal role in significantly reducing the numbers of uninsured in our state – fifth biggest drop in the nation!

Look with immense pride at the positive impacts you’ve had on more than 300,000 people who in 2014 obtained private health insurance through the Marketplace or enrolled in the newly expanded Medicaid.

Far more than numbers, they include Joaquin, who went to a doctor for the first time in years and discovered he had Type II diabetes and that he needed to make changes for his health.  Or Marty, who is a graduate student and rafting guide who knows he needs regular checkups to guard against skin cancer. And Shirley, who retired from teaching and needed something affordable to stay covered. Or Lee, who uses his own experience of being hospitalized after a serious accident to encourage others in his mountain community to get enrolled.

The stories are told in every county of our state – people who are benefiting from the increased access, choice and affordability that Connect for Health Colorado offers to those seeking health insurance.

As we enter this historic second enrollment period, I want to thank you for what you’ve done and what you are about to do as we strive to move our state toward better health.  And I want to assure you that Connect for Health Colorado has been working diligently to get the Marketplace ready – and better – for Coloradans.

We have worked closely with our partners at Health Care Policy and Financing to provide a single eligibility system so all customers applying for financial assistance will have just one application to complete to see if they are eligible for state coverage or a tax credit to reduce the cost of private insurance.

This Open Enrollment we will be introducing several new tools on our website to help consumers better understand their options and assist them through their decisions. Our network of certified Health Coverage Guides and Agent/Brokers has already begun helping customers compare their choices for 2015 plans. And, our Customer Service Center is ready to serve Coloradans who want help through the enrollment process.

By the numbers, the Marketplace this year has:

• 15 insurers offering 176 individual health plans; 120 small group plans; 16 individual dental plans; and 10 small group dental plans
• More than 200 Customer Service Representatives
• 54 Certified Assistance Sites
• 450 Certified Health Coverage Guides
• 155 Certified Application Counselors
• 1,600 Certified Agents/Brokers

I thank you in advance for your dedication and commitment to the people of Colorado.

Warmly,
Gary Drews
Interim CEO

DENVER (July 14, 2014) – At its annual meeting today, the Connect for Health Colorado® Board of Directors  unanimously elected Sharon O’Hara, Executive Vice President of the Colorado-Wyoming Chapter of the National Multiple Sclerosis Society, as the new Chair. O’Hara has been a board member since 2013 and replaces outgoing Chair Gretchen Hammer, who will continue to serve on the Board.

Also re-elected unanimously were Arnold Salazar, Executive Director of Colorado Health Partnerships, as Vice Chair, and Mike Fallon, MD, an emergency physician at North Colorado Medical Center, as Board Secretary.

Other board members include Gretchen Hammer, Executive Director of the Colorado Coalition for the Medically Underserved; Richard Betts, owner of ASAP Accounting & Payroll Inc.; Ellen Daehnick of Helliemae’s Handcrafted Caramels; Steve ErkenBrack, President of Rocky Mountain Health Plans; Eric Grossman, President & CEO of NextHealth Technologies; and Nathan Wilkes, founder of Headstorms, Inc. Ex-officio (non-voting) members are Susan Birch, Executive Director of the Colorado Department of Healthcare Policy and Financing; Kevin Patterson, Deputy Chief of Staff for Gov. John Hickenlooper; and Marguerite Salazar, Commissioner of Insurance.

In accepting the position, O’Hara praised her fellow board members for doing “six years of work in the past three years of its existence.”

“I’m proud of the success the Marketplace has had in expanding coverage for Coloradans. As we approach the next open enrollment this fall, we urge consumers to shop the new plans and rates and look for options that best fit your needs, whether you are renewing or signing up for the first time,” says O’Hara.

“We’re thankful to have someone like Sharon, who has so much experience in helping Coloradans access healthcare, take on leadership of our Board as we head into this very important next chapter and second open enrollment period,” says Connect for Health Colorado Chief Operating Officer Lindy Hinman. “Sharon has demonstrated a deep commitment to our mission of improving access, choice and affordability for Coloradans in need of health insurance.”

The Staff and Board also praised Hammer’s service.

“We’ve been so fortunate to have had Gretchen Hammer take a lead for our state as it tackled some very complicated healthcare challenges. She was instrumental in the early formation and development of the Marketplace, and helped set a very high standard for the organization as our first Board Chair,” says Connect for Health Chief Executive Officer Patty Fontneau.  “I’m thrilled Gretchen will continue to serve and remains so dedicated to the ongoing success of Connect for Health Colorado.”

Hammer steps down after three years as Chair and following a successful Oct. 1, 2013 launch of the Marketplace, which has helped more than 140,000 Coloradans enroll for private health insurance.

About Connect for Health Colorado:
Through state laws, Connect for Health Colorado was established as a non-profit organization with a Colorado mission to improve choice, access and affordability to private health insurance.  Just 18 months after hiring technology vendors, Colorado’s own health insurance Marketplace opened October 1, 2013, with a full shopping website and a statewide network of trained and certified experts to help customers.

www.ConnectforHealthCO.com
1-855-PLANS-4-You (855-752-6749)

On Monday, the Board approved a budget and carrier fee for the coming year, allowing Connect for Health Colorado to serve more Coloradans who need health insurance and be financially sustainable. The Board vote is the result of many detailed budget discussions during which Board members advised staff to identify efficiencies and ensure strong financial management. The process also included input from many stakeholders, including three that testified at the board meeting on Monday: the Colorado Health Foundation, the Colorado Consumer Health Initiative and the Colorado Center on Law and Policy. Under the Board’s leadership, Connect for Health Colorado is one of the most successful and financially secure state-based health insurance marketplaces in the nation. Since opening October 1, 2013, we have helped over 135,000 Coloradans enroll in commercial health insurance, and contributed to the enrollment of over 180,000 Coloradans into Medicaid. Our budget, staff and fees are among the lowest in the nation. Our sustainability model allows us to be financially independent using short-term transitional funds and enrollment-based revenue. The Board has served a crucial role in our success.  Monday’s meeting was the 67^th full Board meeting since the organization was established and Board members were appointed in summer 2011, per Senate Bill 11-200. Some Board members have moved on and new members have been appointed. Most have been serving for nearly three years, also participating in over 50 Committee meetings to discuss policy, finance and operational matters and to set the direction for the Marketplace. We have more work ahead of us and I ask that you join me in thanking the Board for their continued commitment and service.

Patty Fontneau, CEO

Charting a Strong Path Forward: A Message from CEO Patty Fontneau

More than 131,000 Coloradans have now signed up for private health insurance through Connect for Health Colorado. While open enrollment is now closed, our team remains very busy helping the many people in our state who are still eligible to get health insurance. We’re also continuing to make improvements to our technology as we plan and prepare for the next open enrollment period and beyond.

There has been a good deal of discussion and media coverage regarding the financial health and future of our Marketplace.

I want to be clear: Connect for Health Colorado is one of the most financially secure marketplaces in the nation.  We have a solid plan that moves us to become self-sustaining by January 2015, when our federal start-up grants supporting operations will be gone.

This financial model is a diverse funding approach approved by our Board of Directors and supported by the State Legislature in 2013.

The plan enables us to go from building and launching our Marketplace, to serving increasing numbers of Coloradans during the transition from federal grants, by using an existing broad assessment and other funding.  It ensures we are fiscally secure and have a diverse revenue base as we move forward. Each piece of our fiscal model is important:

• Use federal grants to support creating, building, launching, enhancing, maintaining and operating the new Marketplace for Coloradans. These grant funds are only partially spent; they continue to be available to us for the last piece of technology build until June 30, 2015, the end of our next fiscal year.
• Make use of legislation passed in 2013 (HB13-1245) that allows Connect for Health Colorado to access existing funding used to support CoverColorado –insurance for  people who could not get coverage because of pre-existing conditions. (CoverColorado is closing in 2014.) The “high risk pool” fund was created in 2001 by charging insurance companies a monthly per-policy amount – a broad-based assessment that reached as high as $3.75 per policy per month.  The new law allows Connect for Health Colorado to set the assessment only between $0 and $1.80, and use it only through 2016. Insurance companies have paid this for 13 years and at much higher rates; the Marketplace did not charge the allowed assessment in 2014 because other funding was sufficient.
• The legislation also allows Connect for Health Colorado to evaluate other products that make sense to our customers and markets, accept health carrier tax donations and apply for  foundation grants.
• Establish a small administrative fee on all products purchased through the Marketplace.  For 2014 and 2015 it was set at 1.4%, the lowest in the country among Marketplaces using an administrative fee. This includes all 36 states using the federal Marketplace, which charges 3.5%. (Some marketplaces are funded by their state taxpayers. Connect for Health Colorado receives nothing from our state General Fund.)
• Combining the temporary broad assessment (at its highest level) on insurance companies and the permanent administrative fee on Marketplace products still makes our average total administrative fee the lowest in the country for states using an administrative fee. Again, a few state Marketplaces are funded through their state general fund, which is not available to Colorado.

As a public non-profit, we’ve been transparent about the roadmap we’ve set to reaching our  goals and continuing to meet our mission to improve access, choice and affordability of health insurance for Coloradans.

We are operating below budget and, compared with the six most comparably sized state Marketplaces, our budget is dramatically lower and our staffing numbers the leanest.

We’ve worked hard to be one of the most sustainable state marketplaces, and we’re extremely proud of the tremendous success in expanding coverage and keeping fees low. We thank our many partners for their hard work and support and look forward to serving Coloradans for many more years.

Patty Fontneau, CEO

Preparing for a Key Stretch in Enrollment: A Message from CEO Patty Fontneau

I have often reminded people that the launch of Connect for Health Colorado is a marathon, not a sprint. Now, with March here, we are quickly coming to the end of the first enrollment period – a first mile-marker in the journey to getting Coloradans covered.

There are just 31 days left for most Coloradans to buy private health insurance for 2014! (The only exceptions will be those who have a life-change event, such as job loss, that causes them to lose their health plan after March).

Our final push to March 31 is focused on reaching as many of the uninsured as possible to help them meet the deadline and access cost-reductions.

• We are staffing up our Customer Service Center in anticipation of a surge of people seeking their health plans before time runs out.

• Throughout the month, Connect for Health Colorado certified brokers and Health Coverage Guides will host dozens of public and private events across the state to help people enroll.  Look for our colorful Connect for Health Colorado RV and specialized campaigns.
  This weekend alone public enrollment events are taking place in Craig, Lafayette, Montrose and Steamboat Springs. And we’ll be at the inaugural Entravision Feria de la Salud Health Fair Sunday at Sports Authority Field at Mile High Stadium in Denver. You can find our growing list of March enrollment events on our website.
• We will be opening a walk-in location soon on the 16th Street Mall in downtown Denver for free in-person help from certified brokers and Health Coverage Guides. Check our website for more details.

We’ve seen great success so far. More than 1 million people have come to our website and close to 85,000 Coloradans have signed up for coverage. Recent reports put Colorado in the top-four of state-based marketplaces for enrollments. Just over half of our enrollees qualified for tax credits and financial assistance to reduce their costs.

We look forward to serving many more and hope you’ll be involved too. If you know people who need health insurance for 2014, encourage them to go to Connect for Health Colorado to shop, compare and see what they might save.

Reach us online at ConnectforHealthCO.com; call our Customer Service Center at 855-PLANS-4-YOU(855-752-6749); or find a certified broker or Health Coverage Guide for personalized support.