March 23 marked 15 years since the Affordable Care Act, or ACA, was signed into law, transforming access to affordable, comprehensive and quality health care for millions of Americans. 

To celebrate this milestone, I co-authored an opinion column for The Colorado Sun with Michael Conway, the Colorado Insurance Commissioner and chief executive of the Colorado Division of Insurance.

In our column, we share stories from everyday Coloradans who told us how they benefit from the ACA. 

For so many, the ACA creates access to essential health services, including preventive care, mental health treatment and life-saving prescription medications. And for some, it provides something else — a sense of security, comfort, and hope for a healthier future. 

Many of you, our close partners, hear these stories every day, and I am proud to share them with a larger audience. 

Read our column on The Colorado Sun.

The Importance of Protecting Customers’ Financial Help 

In The Colorado Sun column, the Commissioner and I also talk about enhanced tax credits that will expire at the end of 2025 if Congress doesn’t take action. 

Tax credits strengthen the ACA by lowering monthly premiums, which makes health insurance more affordable. 

In fact, in 2025, three out of five customers in Colorado qualified for a health insurance plan for $10 or less per month after tax credits were applied.

Earlier this month, I talked more about the importance of enhanced tax credits in a virtual town hall meeting with Club 20, a coalition of individuals, businesses, tribes and local governments in Colorado’s 22 western counties. 

Insurance premiums are higher for our neighbors in rural Colorado, where enhanced tax credits make a big difference for affordability. For Plan Year 2025, in 47 rural counties, these tax credits reduced monthly premiums by $100 or more. 

Here’s an example I shared during the town hall from one of our certified brokers: A retired couple in Durango aren’t yet eligible for Medicare. Their annual income is $82,000, and they pay $380 a month for their family gold plan through Connect for Health Colorado. If the enhanced tax credits expire at the end of 2025, they will pay more than $2,300 a month for the same plan — and when you factor in their maximum out-of-pocket costs, they could pay more than $45,000 a year for health coverage. That’s more than half of their annual income. 

In fact, without these credits, 77% of people enrolled in health insurance through Connect for Health Colorado will see their financial assistance reduced or eliminated, which means their monthly premiums could increase 50% or more. 

This is why you’ll continue to hear me talk about enhanced tax credits, and it’s why I traveled to Washington, D.C. last week to talk with members of Colorado’s congressional delegation about the consequences for Coloradans if tax credits are reduced. 

Without enhanced tax credits, insurance premiums will increase, and tens of thousands of Coloradans — our friends, families, and neighbors —  will lose health coverage. This would unnecessarily set back the meaningful progress we’ve made over the last 15 years — and Congress must act to ensure that doesn’t happen. 

Take care,

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