Here’s what you need to know about signing up for health coverage
DENVER — It’s Open Enrollment in Colorado. For those who aren’t already covered by job health insurance or another insurance program (like Health First Colorado, Colorado’s Medicaid program or Medicare), now is the time to sign up for a health insurance plan for 2022 coverage. This year, many individuals, families and small business owners shopping for health and dental plans can expect increased plan choice and savings for 2022.
Back in August, the Colorado Division of Insurance (DOI) announced preliminary 2022 rate filings for the states individual and small group markets. At the time, carriers were requesting a weighted average increase of around 1.3% for indy market ACA plans and 5.4% for small group plans.
Losing Free COBRA Premiums or Job Health Insurance? You Can Still Enroll in Health Coverage for the Last Few Months of 2021
Residents with a Qualifying Event Have Options to Get Covered
DENVER – Thousands of Coloradans will lose free COBRA premiums at the end of the month and may need other affordable coverage options. Through the American Rescue Plan Act, which passed earlier this year, many people were able to receive free COBRA premiums through September 30. Connect for Health Colorado, the state’s health insurance marketplace, is reminding residents that they can still sign up for a health insurance plan for the remainder of the year if they experience a Qualifying Life Event, such as losing free COBRA premiums this month or losing job health insurance.
Connect for Health Colorado Has Enrolled More Residents in Health Coverage This Year Than Ever Before
Colorado's Marketplace is Keeping Residents Insured during the Pandemic
DENVER – Since Connect for Health Colorado re-opened enrollment on February 8, 2021, to help customers secure health coverage amid the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, approximately 36,350 residents have signed up for a health insurance plan.
As of Sunday, August 15, the last day of the enrollment period, 216,350 Coloradans have signed up for a plan that provides coverage this year. That total is 21,000 more health insurance plan sign ups than the same day last year— a nearly 11 percent increase.
Preliminary Information Shows Even Greater Savings in 2022: 24.1% Savings from Bipartisan Reinsurance Program
DENVER - Governor Polis and the Colorado Division of Insurance (DOI), part of the Department of Regulatory Agencies (DORA), released preliminary information about the health insurance plans and premiums for 2022, for the individual market (meaning health insurance plans for people who don’t get their insurance from an employer) and the small group market (for small businesses with 2-100 employees).
Last Call for Coloradans to Sign Up for 2021 Health Coverage
After August 15th, you’ll need a qualifying event to enroll
DENVER — Coloradans have until Sunday, August 15th to sign up and save on health coverage through Connect for Health Colorado. Thanks to a new federal law, more Coloradans are eligible to save than ever before. But this is the last chance for people to enroll in a plan that provides coverage this year unless they experience a Qualifying Life Event.
Colorado's Health Insurance Marketplace Maintains Enrollment Momentum
There's still time to enroll
DENVER – As of Wednesday, July 7, 205,813 Coloradans have signed up for a plan that provides coverage this year through Connect for Health Colorado. That’s an additional 5,000 enrollments since last month when Connect for Health Colorado announced its Marketplace had reached a historic enrollment milestone for the 2021 plan year.
That's actually 5,694 more enrollees since June 7th, although they may be knocking it down a bit to account for attrition/etc. That amounts to 190 additional enrollees per day, which is actually up from the ~167/day which Colorado had been averaging from May through June. Huh.
U.S. Supreme Court Upholds the Affordable Care Act
Coverage protections, financial help and many other programs continue as part of law that has helped millions of Coloradans
Today, the United States Supreme Court announced its 7-2 decision in California v. Texas, No. 19-840, to uphold the Affordable Care Act (ACA), now covering 31 million Americans.
“We are pleased with the Court’s decision to uphold the Affordable Care Act. This is welcome news to more than 500,000 Coloradans who have gained access to quality health care coverage through Medicaid expansion,” said Kim Bimestefer, executive director of the Department of Health Care Policy & Financing. “This coverage expansion is more important than ever, given the COVID-19 pandemic and economic downturn, which has caused many Coloradans to lose their jobs and with that their employer-sponsored health insurance coverage.”
Connect for Health Colorado Hits Historic Enrollment Milestone for 2021 Plan Year
Thousands More Coloradans Have Health Coverage Thanks to Extended Enrollment Window and New, Federal Law
DENVER – As of Monday, June 7, 200,119 Coloradans have signed up for a plan that provides coverage this year through Connect for Health Colorado, the state’s official health insurance marketplace. That is a historic number of enrollments in a plan year for Connect for Health Colorado since opening for business in 2013.
Just over 20,000 of this year’s enrollments occurred since Connect for Health Colorado re-opened enrollment in Feb. 2021, and half of those sign ups occurred since the organization began offering expanded subsidies under a new, federal law in April 2021.
I've once again relaunched my project from last fall to track Medicaid enrollment (both standard and expansion alike) on a monthly basis for every state dating back to the ACA being signed into law.
For the various enrollment data, I'm using data from Medicaid.gov's Medicaid Enrollment Data Collected Through MBES reports. Unfortunately, they've only published enrollment data through December 2020. In some states I've been able to get more recent enrollment data from state websites and other sources.
Colorado total Medicaid enrollment (including ACA expansion) reached a high of around 1.38 million people in early 2017 before gradually dropping off to 1.2 million just before the COVID pandemic hit last spring.
