July 2nd, 2020 – Colorado’s Congress and Senate completed work on Senate Bill 215 with provides important financial support for Colorado’s reinsurance program to help keep health insurance affordable for Coloradans who buy their own health insurance.
Colorado’s reinsurance plan reduced premiums by an average of 20% when it was introduced last year. The bill creates an enterprise governed by a 9-member board, composed of the executive director of the Colorado health benefit exchange and the commissioner of insurance or their designees and 7 members appointed by the governor and representing various aspect of the health care industry and health care consumers.
The enterprise is to start assessing and collecting the insurer fee in 2021, which fee is based on a percentage of premiums collected by health insurers in the previous calendar year on health benefit plans issued in the state. Most insurance carriers still would pay 2.5% of premiums, but nonprofit insurance carriers would pay just 1%. There will also be a delayed and reduced hospital assessment to be collected in the 2022 and 2023 calendar years.
Additionally, the bill fixes glitch in how what is considered affordable employer coverage is calculated and will factor in the higher cost of covering the entire family. It will also cover undocumented residents, although they will still not be eligible for any federal tax credits. SB-215 has been sent to Govenor Jared Polis for his signature.
