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.
CHC was established as one a compliance requirement for states under the Affordable Care Act or PPACA, which is perhaps better known as the healthcare reform bill. The law requires all legal residents and citizens residing in the United States to be provided health insurance starting from 2014. The exchanges being established in individual states are among the core components of the reform.
CHC is expected to provide access to coverage for 500,000 additional adults in the state. This means a vast majority of approximately 750,000 uninsured people in Colorado will be able to enroll into affordable plans. Those who already have insurance can also find a new plan if they think it will save them money and provide better coverage.
CHC currently has two core components or areas of operation. One is the marketplace that is to be used by individuals, and the other one is for small businesses that have less than 100 employees. The latter platform, called SHOP, may be opened up to larger businesses with more than 100 workers after 2017, subject to the state approving implementation of this second phase 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.
CHC was established as one a compliance requirement for states under the Affordable Care Act or PPACA, which is perhaps better known as the healthcare reform bill. The law requires all legal residents and citizens residing in the United States to be provided health insurance starting from 2014. The exchanges being established in individual states are among the core components of the reform.
CHC is expected to provide access to coverage for 500,000 additional adults in the state. This means a vast majority of approximately 750,000 uninsured people in Colorado will be able to enroll into affordable plans. Those who already have insurance can also find a new plan if they think it will save them money and provide better coverage.
CHC currently has two core components or areas of operation. One is the marketplace that is to be used by individuals, and the other one is for small businesses that have less than 100 employees. The latter platform, called SHOP, may be opened up to larger businesses with more than 100 workers after 2017, subject to the state approving implementation of this second phase 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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