To Our Valued Stakeholders,

We are winding up November with the number of 2019 plan selections growing stronger each day. We plan another public release on Monday that will include total submissions for the month through midnight tonight.

You may have noticed we are trying some new and fun things in our social media outreach this year to help drive those numbers up. I would like to share two that we posted this week.

You may recognize some familiar faces of partners around the state in the I’m Here to Help video that we recorded at Building Better Health last month. And you might enjoy my conversation with Graffiti and Davey on the Life is Dope podcast, an opportunity to speak to an audience our traditional channels might not reach and to have a little fun in the process.

In the News

We have talked before about the modest increase in 2019 health insurance premiums in Colorado. The Kaiser Family Foundation provided an analysis of the rates for the lowest plans in three metal tiers. You can find there a breakdown of Colorado by rating area and even county-level data that illustrates the variations around the state you may find interesting.

Take care,

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

December 18, 2017
Contact: Luke Clarke, 720-496-2545

[email protected]

DENVER —  More than 149,000 Coloradans selected healthcare coverage for 2018 through the state health insurance Marketplace through the December 17, 2017, a rate 7 percent ahead of signups one year ago, according to new data released today by Connect for Health Colorado®, mid-way through the Open Enrollment period for 2018 coverage.

“It’s not over, but the first half of this Open Enrollment period has set a solid pace,” said Connect for Health Colorado CEO Kevin Patterson.  “We are still enrolling Coloradans who buy their own health insurance through January 12.  I encourage everyone who does not have coverage yet to go to our site and see if they qualify for financial help. My message is, ‘Don’t leave money on the table.’ We know that too many Coloradans who qualify for help assume that they don’t.”

With nearly four weeks remaining in the current Open Enrollment period, Coloradans have already selected 149,006 medical insurance plans. The total was 139,509 for the comparable period in 2016. Seventeen percent of the medical plan selections are by customers who are new to Connect for Health Colorado and 83 percent are renewing customers.

Consumers enrolling now through January 12, 2018, will get health insurance that takes effect February 1, 2018. After January 12, individuals and families can buy coverage only if they experience a life change event such as such as marriage, divorce, having a child, losing employer-sponsored insurance, or moving to Colorado.

About Connect for Health Colorado

Connect for Health Colorado is a public, non-profit entity established 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 is the only place to apply for financial assistance in the form of tax credits to help lower the monthly cost of premiums. Customers can shop online; get help by phone or online chat from Customer Service Center representatives; and access free, in-person assistance from a statewide network of certified Brokers, community-based Health Coverage Guides or Application Counselors. For more information: www.connectforhealthco.com

To Our Valued Stakeholders

With all the uncertainty in the public policy, many of us did not know what to expect in this Open Enrollment Period. Now, as we approach the midway point, we have reason to be optimistic.

Medical plan selections reached 43,881 in November, a rate that is 29% ahead of the rate in November 2016. You can find more detail in today’s media release.

In the News

Families relying on the Children’s Health Insurance Program, Child Health Plan Plus (CHP+) in Colorado, began receiving notices this week that the program will not continue beyond January 31, 2018, unless Congress reauthorizes funding. The program serves more than 75,000 children and 800 pregnant women in our state. We continue to coordinate with the department of Health Care Policy and Financing to move those families to private insurance through Connect for Health Colorado. Although they should continue to use their CHP+ benefits through January, we encourage participants in CHP+ to start researching the options available to them and we have posted information on our site to assist that effort.

Take care,

Kevin

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

To Our Valued Stakeholders

With all the debate on the future of healthcare in this country, there are a few things I would like to make clear about the situation in Colorado:

• On November 1, Connect for Health Colorado will be open for business with 2018 health plans.
• Coloradans who are eligible for financial help through Advance Premium Tax Credits and/or Cost Sharing Reduction will have the same level of help available to them with their 2018 coverage. In fact, net premiums – what the individual pays after the tax credit – will drop an average of 20 percent.
• We have loaded those plans into our system and we are making the final quality assurance checks on our shopping site as you read this message.

In the News

I think everyone is aware of legislation that would restore the Cost Share Reduction reimbursements to health insurance companies. The bill has several provisions that could stabilize the individual health insurance market. The fate of that measure is very much in question, as this Politico article makes clear.

Gov. Hickenlooper and nine other governors from both parties sent a letter to congressional leadership supporting restoration of Cost Share Reduction payments to health insurance companies and stabilizing the individual market.

As the bill is currently written, it contains a provision for health insurance companies to pay rebates if their Cost Share Reduction reimbursements are restored for next year, even as they charge premiums that were raised on the belief the reimbursements would not come. The bill is in the earliest stages of the legislative process and we have all been reminded of the uncertainty of that process this year.

This uncertainty will be with us for a while but my message to Coloradans buying their own coverage remains the same as in previous years: take the time to check the options available to you, check to see what financial assistance might be available to you and choose the health plan that best meets your needs and the needs of your family.

Take care,

Kevin

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

To Our Valued Stakeholders,

It was good to meet with many of you at the Building Better Health conference Monday and Tuesday. We’re always grateful for the chance to meet folks from all around the state who do so much toward our shared mission to expand coverage.

We thank the Colorado Health Foundation for its continuing support of an event that is critical in preparing for Open Enrollment and salute the work that Covering Kids and Family did in organizing the gathering that brought so many valuable resources together.

It seemed appropriate that this year’s conference came close on the heels of the release of the Colorado Health Access Survey, which documents the state’s historic gains in coverage – more than 5 million Coloradans now protected by health insurance. That’s a milestone to be proud of.

In Other News

A few news outlets are reporting today that backers of the bipartisan market stabilization effort in the U.S. Senate are nearing agreement. According to this Politico report, the committee could have a proposal to bring forward as early as next week.

The news comes days after party leaders in the Senate decided they did not have sufficient support for the Graham-Cassidy repeal bill to put it up for a vote.

Authorization for funding the Children’s Health Insurance Program, CHP+ in Colorado, runs out tomorrow (September 30) but Colorado and most other states have some funds available to continue the program in the short term. The good news is that a hearing on re-authorizing is planned on Wednesday in the House Energy and Commerce Committee, according to this account in The Hill.

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,

I want to recommend you take a moment to read our End of Open Enrollment Report, which we posted earlier this week. As the most extensive report of our results we make each year, the End of Open Enrollment Report documents the impact our work is having throughout the state.  You’ll see that households who receive financial assistance are receiving $369 a month on average to help keep their premiums affordable.

Customers made more than 178,000 plan selections through Connect for Health Colorado during the four-month period covered in the report. Growth continued to be strong in rural counties as well as large suburban counties like Adams, Douglas and Jefferson, where enrollments grew by 10 percent or more. We are grateful for the hard work of our Brokers, Health Coverage Guides, Certified Application Counselors and stakeholders that produce these results.

Legislative Update

The state House Appropriations Committee on Thursday passed HB17-1235, the measure that would provide financial assistance to some Coloradans with income falling between 400% and 500% of the federal poverty level. It’s headed next to the House floor.

This bill would give us the opportunity to help folks in areas with the state’s highest health insurance premiums and we have a team laying the groundwork, should the measure become law.

In Recent News

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services on Thursday finalized its market stabilization rules. We provided our formal comment on the rules in March.

Standard & Poors put out a timely and encouraging analysis of individual health insurance markets, as our carrier partners prepare their 2018 plans and premiums. The report found reason to believe the market is stabilizing. As this New York Times article put it,  the insurers reviewed by S&P reduced their losses in 2016, will likely break even in 2017 and can expect profits in 2018.

Take care,

Kevin

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

To Our Valued Stakeholders,

We are already building the foundation to support a possible new state assistance program that would be created by pending legislation, HB17-1235. The bill would provide some financial assistance for Coloradans who live in areas with some of the steepest health insurance premiums. The measure recently made its first step toward becoming law when the House Health, Insurance and Environment Committee passed it and sent it to the Appropriations Committee. We’ll be talking to our Board of Directors about our work on this project in Monday’s meeting.

Legislative Update

The state Senate Appropriations Committee on Thursday passed Senate Bill 3, which calls for moving our operations to the federal exchange. The next step would be a hearing before the full state senate before the measure could move to the state House of Representatives. Each step of this process is an opportunity for us to tell our story and the opposition to the bill has brought out many accounts of Coloradans who depend on us to get coverage.

In Recent News

The lack of clarity on the future of Cost-Sharing Reduction – financial assistance with co-payments, coinsurance and deductibles for some of our customers most in need of help – has been a major concern. Congressional Republican leaders recently spoke in support of keeping the payments through this year and 2018, as reported in the New York Times.

The national conversation that followed November’s election has made many Americans more aware of the effect state marketplaces and the expansion of Medicaid have had on the country. Polls show the Affordable Care Act’s popularity is growing. A Gallup poll released Wednesday showed 55 percent of respondents approving the law, up from 42 percent in November. That’s a big move in five months and the first time a majority said they support the law.

Take care,

Kevin

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

To Our Valued Stakeholders,

We are already building the foundation to support a possible new state assistance program that would be created by pending legislation, HB17-1235. The bill would provide some financial assistance for Coloradans who live in areas with some of the steepest health insurance premiums. The measure recently made its first step toward becoming law when the House Health, Insurance and Environment Committee passed it and sent it to the Appropriations Committee. We’ll be talking to our Board of Directors about our work on this project in Monday’s meeting.

Legislative Update

The state Senate Appropriations Committee on Thursday passed Senate Bill 3, which calls for moving our operations to the federal exchange. The next step would be a hearing before the full state senate before the measure could move to the state House of Representatives. Each step of this process is an opportunity for us to tell our story and the opposition to the bill has brought out many accounts of Coloradans who depend on us to get coverage.

In Recent News

The lack of clarity on the future of Cost-Sharing Reduction – financial assistance with co-payments, coinsurance and deductibles for some of our customers most in need of help – has been a major concern. Congressional Republican leaders recently spoke in support of keeping the payments through this year and 2018, as reported in the New York Times.

The national conversation that followed November’s election has made many Americans more aware of the effect state marketplaces and the expansion of Medicaid have had on the country. Polls show the Affordable Care Act’s popularity is growing. A Gallup poll released Wednesday showed 55 percent of respondents approving the law, up from 42 percent in November. That’s a big move in five months and the first time a majority said they support the law.

Take care,

Kevin

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

To Our Valued Stakeholders,

We are already building the foundation to support a possible new state assistance program that would be created by pending legislation, HB17-1235. The bill would provide some financial assistance for Coloradans who live in areas with some of the steepest health insurance premiums. The measure recently made its first step toward becoming law when the House Health, Insurance and Environment Committee passed it and sent it to the Appropriations Committee. We’ll be talking to our Board of Directors about our work on this project in Monday’s meeting.

Legislative Update

The state Senate Appropriations Committee on Thursday passed Senate Bill 3, which calls for moving our operations to the federal exchange. The next step would be a hearing before the full state senate before the measure could move to the state House of Representatives. Each step of this process is an opportunity for us to tell our story and the opposition to the bill has brought out many accounts of Coloradans who depend on us to get coverage.

In Recent News

The lack of clarity on the future of Cost-Sharing Reduction – financial assistance with co-payments, coinsurance and deductibles for some of our customers most in need of help – has been a major concern. Congressional Republican leaders recently spoke in support of keeping the payments through this year and 2018, as reported in the New York Times.

The national conversation that followed November’s election has made many Americans more aware of the effect state marketplaces and the expansion of Medicaid have had on the country. Polls show the Affordable Care Act’s popularity is growing. A Gallup poll released Wednesday showed 55 percent of respondents approving the law, up from 42 percent in November. That’s a big move in five months and the first time a majority said they support the law.

Take care,

Kevin

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