Connect for Health Colorado & Colorado Medicaid Update

DENVER, CO – Between October 1 and December 31, more than 138,000 Coloradans have signed up or been approved for health coverage that takes effect January 1, 2014 or later, according to data released today from Connect for Health Colorado and the Colorado Department of Health Care Policy and Financing.

The first half of the open enrollment period saw a strong increase in the pace of enrollments as the December deadline approached for customers seeking health insurance coverage on January 1^st of 2014. Connect for Health Colorado, working in partnership with the Colorado Department of Health Care Policy and Financing, extended the deadline from December 15^th to December 27^th to accommodate as many additional customers as possible.

The enrollment period for private health insurance continues until March 2014, with customers currently enrolling in plans with coverage starting February 1^st.

“We made significant progress in the past three months as more than 52,000 Coloradans purchased private health insurance through our marketplace, man y getting coverage for the first time in years,” said Patty Fontneau, CEO of Connect for Health Colorado. “As the second half of the enrollment period gets underway, we are already hard at work reaching out to Coloradans statewide.”

The enrollment numbers for Connect for Health Colorado exceeded their own early conservative projections of approximately 37,000 enrollments by the December deadline by 16,000 additional lives covered.

The Medicaid expansion numbers announced today reflect individuals actually enrolled in the program.  Since Medicaid eligibility is determined on a monthly basis, the prior numbers reflected estimates of eligibility at a point in time.  Medicaid enrollments can and do change as individuals income or personal circumstances change.  Colorado Medicaid refers individuals who are over income for Medicaid directly to Connect for Health Colorado as these individuals could benefit from an advance premium tax credit or other financial assistance offered through the marketplace.