We are now just weeks away from the start of our next Open Enrollment Period and our staff is wrapping up all final preparations in advance of November 1^st. As we enter Open Enrollment, you should see the result of months of hard work in some important ways. First, you will see us spread the word with a new ad campaign and through social media. We are also adding materials to our collateral toolkit, which I encourage you to use to help us reach customers in your sphere of influence.

This year we also moved all Call Center operations in-house. I am excited that we can call everyone answering phones our colleagues and to serve our customers with this dedicated team. Our representatives are finalizing their training as we speak and will be ready for November 1.

Finally, throughout the past year, we have worked to fine-tune our technology and application system. The teams have done an exceptional job in resolving bugs and implementing proactive measures to ensure our system is ready for Open Enrollment traffic.

CoverCo

Last week we held our annual training conference, CoverCO, where nearly 600 attendees convened to learn critical information for Open Enrollment. Our speakers offered sessions on topics such as post enrollment support for OmniSalud enrollment, how to best assist mixed eligibility households, changes to immigrant health coverage, and hospital discounted care.

I was particularly inspired by my conversation with Jose Antonio Vargas, who shared his story about growing up as an undocumented immigrant in the United States. I was also moved by the story Robert Paylor shared with us, including his tools of resilience while living with quadriplegia.

We are grateful for everyone who joined us for another year of virtual CoverCO, and are thrilled to provide our brokers, assisters, and other stakeholders with the opportunity to learn from so many distinguished speakers.

In the News

I was pleased to see our friends at the Division of Insurance announced a 10% increase in SilverEnhanced Savings spots, which will give us the opportunity to enroll up to 11,000 people with enrollment assistance in the second year of OmniSalud.

Take care,

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

As the leader of this state’s health insurance marketplace, one of my roles is to ensure I understand the needs of Coloradans and that Connect for Health Colorado can serve residents in the best way possible. One way to do that is to get into communities, learn from you and learn from others.

Recently, some members of Connect for Health Colorado’s leadership team joined me for a two-day meeting with leaders from the Covered California team. It was invigorating to share learnings that each organization respectively can apply to its work.

For example, Covered California shared how they collect and use data about customer behavior within their application. Here in Colorado, we plan to expand our collection of analytics in the coming months and use the data for continuous improvement. Other discussions included our new OmniSalud program, how our call centers operate and how our staff stays engaged. Overall, there were lots of great ideas exchanged and learnings to take away.

Statewide Visits

This week I started my statewide visits to meet with community leaders. I traveled to Ft. Collins this week, I’ll be in Durango in a few weeks, Colorado Springs and Grand Junction in September. I look forward to these opportunities to connect.

Take care,

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

This week, the Colorado Division of Insurance (DOI) announced that they have asked the courts to move Friday Health Plans of Colorado into liquidation, which will end coverage for Friday Health Plans customers on August 31, 2023. 

As of the announcement Monday night, all Friday Health Plans customers can use a Special Enrollment Period to choose new coverage for the remainder of the year. We have been working closely with the DOI and jointly created this list of Frequently Asked Questions for Friday Health Plans customers. We ask that if you know of a Friday Health Plans customer, point them in the direction of a broker or enrollment center to pick a new plan.

This news of course is unnerving for Connect for Health Colorado customers, as well as our new Colorado Connect customers. I issued a statement reiterating that I am confident we have the enrollment support in place to help these customers enroll with another issuer partner to ensure they don’t experience a gap in coverage. We are also reaching out to everyone enrolled through the Marketplace in a Friday Health Plan to make sure they understand what they need to do.

Thank you to all our staff, enrollment network and to you for helping us get the word out about this so we keep Coloradans covered.

Initial Rates for Plan Year 2024 Released

The Colorado Division of Insurance released initial rates for the 2024 Plan Year. We will continue to monitor and prepare the final rates to be released in October before the Open Enrollment Period.

Take care,

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

Keeping Coloradans Covered all year is an important part of our mission. Our Community Partnership and Outreach team works throughout the year to connect with organizations and consumers around the state. In Denver, we’ve had a busy month supporting Juneteenth and Pride. But you may have also seen us at the Santa Fe Trail Days in Trinidad, Southern Colorado’s Juneteenth festival in Colorado Springs, and Copper Mountain’s BBQ challenge, just to name a few.

Throughout the summer, we will continue to participate in events around the state to remind Coloradans that we are the only place to get financial help with health insurance and that we have a network of Brokers and Assisters to help get them enrolled.

Next month, come see us at the Black Arts Festival in Denver, the El Paso County Fair or the Taste of Pikes Peak.

We’ll look forward to seeing you around!

Take care,

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

For the first time in more than three years, Coloradans who are no longer eligible for Health First Colorado (the state’s Medicaid program) or Child Health Plan Plus (CHP+) have started to lose their coverage. As people begin to lose Medicaid, we’re ramping up our joint efforts with State partners, community partners, and our enrollment network to keep Coloradans covered. Read more in a press release we issued this week.

As a reminder, people who lose Medicaid or CHP+ coverage will have a Special Enrollment Period through July 31, 2024 to sign up for other health coverage. Health coverage options for those losing Medicaid could include health insurance through a job, getting coverage through another family member’s plan, or buying a plan using our Marketplace.

Juneteenth

Help us celebrate at Denver’s Juneteenth Festival, Saturday and Sunday, June 17-18.  We’re hosting a block party on 25th and Welton Streets. Other organizations are joining us on the block with resources available to Coloradans. Denver’s very own DJ Squizzy will join us and you can get your exercise by participating in our family work out sessions with Thal Woods. We hope to see you there.

Take care,

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

Yesterday, the Colorado Division of Insurance (DOI) announced that Friday Health Plans would begin to wind down its business activities throughout the country, including in Colorado.

I issued a statement noting the DOI has confirmed that, based on the company’s current standing, Friday Health Plans of Colorado has sufficient capital to continue for the remainder of 2023. Current customers who are enrolled through Friday Health Plans on Connect for Health Colorado and Colorado Connect will continue to stay covered by their plan. We are staying closely aligned with the Division of Insurance as they continue to evaluate Friday Health Plans’ situation in Colorado.

Our network of Brokers and Assisters can help customers if they have questions about coverage this year.

In the News

The Colorado Sun covered the story about Friday Health Plans.

Take care,

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

Colorado’s legislative session wrapped up Monday, May 8^th for “sine die”, Latin for “without day.”

We participated in conversations related to health care throughout the session and remain committed to our implementation role for new legislation that has passed.  Most notably, legislation regarding Colorado Option plans (HB23-1224) tasks us with leading a stakeholder and customer research process to allow customers to more easily identify and compare Colorado Option plans on our platform. We look forward to working with Brokers, Assisters, advocates, issuers, and customers to ensure that our customers find the best plans for their needs.

No New Friday Health Plan Enrollments for 2023

The Colorado Division of Insurance announced in a consumer advisory that Friday Health Plans will not take new enrollments for Plan Year 2023 starting Tuesday, May 9. As a result of this, people in Colorado who are not already enrolled in a Friday Health plan won’t be able to select a Friday Health plan through Connect for Health Colorado or Colorado Connect. People who are already enrolled in a Friday Health plan for 2023 will continue to stay in their current plan.

I issued a statement about what this means, assuring current customers they will retain coverage.

The Denver Business Journal and Alamosa News wrote about this topic.

Take care,

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

This week, I traveled to Washington, D.C. to meet with both colleagues and policy makers. I enjoyed connecting with other state-based Marketplace leaders and sharing both ideas and our successes.

I also met with Congressional staff who advise our elected leaders on health care policy, as well as Biden Administration officials to discuss the upcoming Medicaid unwind. I shared my confidence that we can help Coloradans transitioning from Medicaid to get affordable coverage on our Marketplace. I used our recent By the Numbers report to showcase how many Coloradans recently benefited from the extra subsidies provided by the American Rescue Plan and extended through the Inflation Reduction Act, making their coverage affordable. If you know anyone who needs to find new coverage, please send them our way. Our staff and our network of Brokers and Assisters are ready to help these customers enroll.

It was also a great chance to share the success of OmniSalud, which enrolled more Coloradans than our projections (see page 4). I was able to thank the Administrator and Center for Consumer Information and Insurance Oversight (CCIIO) Director for their open communication on operational policies they have started this year.

Take care,

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