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The Colorado Health Insurance Exchange is officially known as Connect for Health Colorado (CHC). This is a new healthcare marketplace that enables previously uninsured individuals and small businesses to get insured at affordable rates. CHC will start enrolling customers starting Oct 2013, and coverage for those who are newly insured will begin no later than Jan 1, 2014.
The marketplace was established as required under the federal Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA), better known as the health reform act. As per the requirements of this new law, all U. S. Citizens and legal residents must have healthcare coverage starting Jan 1, 2014. Many states are setting up their own exchanges as the main mechanism through which this law will be implemented.
In Colorado, the exchange will bring another 500,000 people into the fold as being eligible for coverage. This eliminates a huge chunk of the state's 750,000 or so currently uninsured residents. Individuals who already have coverage but want to jump to a better plan can use the exchange to shop around and compare plans.
The program currently has two components. One is the exchange for individuals, and another one called SHOP for small businesses with no more than 100 employees. Larger companies with more employees will be able access this marketplace starting from 2017, assuming the state approves that too.
CHC is expected to cut down healthcare premiums by up to 20%. The competition among providers for the new customers, coupled with the market-based mechanism of CHC, is likely to trigger rate reductions across the board. On average, a family in Colorado can expect their premium costs to drop by about $1,510-$2,160.
The best part about this whole reform plan is that it transforms some of the worst rules in the old system. For example, providers participating in the exchange cannot turn away customers with preexisting conditions or charge them higher premiums than others. They also cannot refuse to cover a preexisting condition if it is normally covered under the plan for everyone else.
The establishment of CHC and all the administrative and operational costs are being borne by the federal government until 2016. The state will be required to pay five percent of costs starting from 2017, and the state's share of expenses will go up to 20 percent from 2020 onwards. Colorado will get more than $12 billion in additional federal funding to deal with the implementation and operational costs of this marketplace.
Not since the New Deal have small business owners and individuals benefited from such a massive expansion of government support for social needs. There's still an ongoing debate over the alleged socialization of healthcare. Organizations and business groups are still protesting the additional costs of providing health plans for uninsured employees. Not to mention the inevitable implementation hiccups and confusion over what changes will take place. Regardless of the other pros and cons, the one thing that makes the Colorado Health Insurance Exchange worthwhile is that everyone in the state will have access to proper healthcare coverage.
The marketplace was established as required under the federal Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA), better known as the health reform act. As per the requirements of this new law, all U. S. Citizens and legal residents must have healthcare coverage starting Jan 1, 2014. Many states are setting up their own exchanges as the main mechanism through which this law will be implemented.
In Colorado, the exchange will bring another 500,000 people into the fold as being eligible for coverage. This eliminates a huge chunk of the state's 750,000 or so currently uninsured residents. Individuals who already have coverage but want to jump to a better plan can use the exchange to shop around and compare plans.
The program currently has two components. One is the exchange for individuals, and another one called SHOP for small businesses with no more than 100 employees. Larger companies with more employees will be able access this marketplace starting from 2017, assuming the state approves that too.
CHC is expected to cut down healthcare premiums by up to 20%. The competition among providers for the new customers, coupled with the market-based mechanism of CHC, is likely to trigger rate reductions across the board. On average, a family in Colorado can expect their premium costs to drop by about $1,510-$2,160.
The best part about this whole reform plan is that it transforms some of the worst rules in the old system. For example, providers participating in the exchange cannot turn away customers with preexisting conditions or charge them higher premiums than others. They also cannot refuse to cover a preexisting condition if it is normally covered under the plan for everyone else.
The establishment of CHC and all the administrative and operational costs are being borne by the federal government until 2016. The state will be required to pay five percent of costs starting from 2017, and the state's share of expenses will go up to 20 percent from 2020 onwards. Colorado will get more than $12 billion in additional federal funding to deal with the implementation and operational costs of this marketplace.
Not since the New Deal have small business owners and individuals benefited from such a massive expansion of government support for social needs. There's still an ongoing debate over the alleged socialization of healthcare. Organizations and business groups are still protesting the additional costs of providing health plans for uninsured employees. Not to mention the inevitable implementation hiccups and confusion over what changes will take place. Regardless of the other pros and cons, the one thing that makes the Colorado Health Insurance Exchange worthwhile is that everyone in the state will have access to proper healthcare coverage.
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