Colorado Insurance history

In late 2015, many of the nation’s health insurance carriers began reducing or eliminating broker commissions, mostly for plans sold outside of open enrollment (during special enrollment periods triggered by qualifying events) or for benefit-rich plans at the gold and/or platinum level.

Colorado HealthOP had about 80,000 people enrolled in individual plans in 2015.

But those rate filings were based on the assumption that funding for cost-sharing reductions (CSR) would continue in 2018.

Although this happened in many other states in 2018, it didn’t happen in Colorado in 2018 because the cost of CSR was added to all plan premiums, and not just silver plan premiums.

Friday Health took over the benchmark plan spot in Grand Junction in 2019, with rates that were lower than the benchmark would otherwise have been.

Colorado has been working on a public option program since 2019, when H.B.1004 was signed into law.

For 2020, however, there were 58 plans, and unsubsidized premiums had dropped across the board — all of which was good news for people who don’t get premium subsidies.

But it’s important for enrollees to understand, especially given that Colorado garnered so many headlines about decreasing premiums for 2020.

The initial 2021 legislation would have given insurers an opportunity to bring down costs on their own, as opposed to diving straight into a public option program.