Colorado Option Program Continues to Generate Savings for Coloradans

Colorado Option Program Continues to Generate Savings for Coloradans

For the fourth year in a row, insurance carriers meet Colorado Option cost control targets

DENVER - Today, the Colorado Division of Insurance (DOI), part of the Department of Regulatory Agencies (DORA), announced that insurance carriers have again met cost control targets for Colorado consumers. Colorado law requires all health insurers selling in the individual and small group markets to offer standardized "Colorado Option" plans. The Colorado Option program is designed so that insurance carriers can meet targets through lower provider reimbursement rates.

"The Colorado Option continues to save people money and offer competitive, easy-to-understand health insurance plans. Insurance carriers are proactively working with hospitals to reduce prices, just like the law intended, without the need for the Division of Insurance to hold a public hearing. The Colorado Option has been an unequivocal success. By just its fourth year in the market, it has captured 50 percent of the enrollment on Connect for Health Colorado. With the Colorado Option, we are maintaining a competitive market for consumers with two new insurance carriers joining the market over the past few years, and offering better benefits," said Colorado Insurance Commissioner Michael Conway.

The Colorado Option provides standardized health insurance plans, offered by private health insurers, that aim to make health care more affordable and accessible for Coloradans. The DOI worked in partnership with health insurance companies, hospitals, health-care providers, small businesses, and consumer advocates to develop the Colorado Option benefit design. The resulting plans offer many high-value services and allow consumers and small businesses to easily compare plans across all health insurance companies to choose the plan that is right for them. These plans cover all essential health benefits required by the Affordable Care Act (ACA), and the benefit design makes it easier to know what you will pay in advance for services, such as visiting a doctor or filling a prescription. Colorado Option plans cover many services, such as primary care visits and mental health office visits, at $0 cost to the consumer.

The Commissioner of Insurance enforces premium rate reductions through the Division's rate review and public hearing process. Since the public hearing process began in 2023, no formal public hearing proceedings have been necessary due to proactive negotiations between the Division, carriers, and hospitals. Hearings will again not be necessary this year.

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