MEDIA RELEASE
Oct. 7, 2019
Contact: Adela Flores-Brennan, 303-839-1261, afbrennan@cohealthinitiative.org
Katie Reinisch, 303-653-1009, katie@progressive-promotions.com
DENVER – Today the Colorado Division of Insurance and Department of Health Care Policy and Finance released the draft proposal for Colorado’s Public Option. Brought about by legislation passed in the spring, the goals of the Public Option for health coverage are to bring a more affordable insurance coverage option to the market and create more robust competition in the insurance market, especially in those areas of the state where only one or two insurers are offering plans in the individual market.
“This draft proposal for Colorado’s Public Option is a great start to bring a more affordable health coverage option to our state,” said Adela Flores-Brennan. ”The structure proposed in this initial plan will make use of a familiar infrastructure and add new insurance options that have additional affordability, transparency and accountability components. The resulting coverage that could start in 2022 would help many Coloradans struggling to find competitive insurance options in their area.
“We are pleased to see measures in the plan that will help the Public Option control underlying health care costs by limiting rates paid to certain providers. This adds accountability to the system to help control increasing premiums. The proposal also estimates a 9-18% savings in premium costs and envisions offering a set of services pre-deductible, which helps consumers have more certainty about what they are paying at the doctor’s office. Colorado needs to do more to control the enormous costs consumers are paying for health care when hospitals, drug corporations, and insurers are raking in profits and excess revenues. This plan is a starting point to do just that.”
This is not a final proposal. Now that the initial plan has been released, Coloradans have another opportunity to weigh in and provide feedback to the state before the plan is finalized in November. We also expect there to be authorizing legislation during the 2020 legislative session. Consumers can submit comments to the Division of Insurance and Department of Health Care Policy and Finance through Oct. 25.
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Colorado Consumer Health Initiative is a nonpartisan, nonprofit group that represents 40+ Colorado health organizations with more than 500,000 health care consumer-members advocating for high-quality, affordable and equitable health care. In 2018, CCHI received the “Get Wise” Consumer Protection award from the Department of Regulatory Agencies (DORA).