Colorado Tax Form Mailing

Tax Form Mailing

We are in the process of an important mailing of our own these days. Our customers will start receiving their Forms 1095-A next week. The form reports coverage dates and tax credit assistance levels to support them in filing their 2017 tax return. Copies of the form are also uploaded to online accounts.

Connect for Health Colorado® Reports Plan Selection Totals for 2018 Nearly Matching Longer 2017 Enrollment Period

DENVER — More than 165,000 Coloradans selected healthcare coverage for 2018 through the state health insurance Marketplace by the close of Open Enrollment, according to new data released today by Connect for Health Colorado®.

“These are positive results that show us holding steady and in line with our targets for the year,” said Connect for Health Colorado CEO Kevin Patterson. “Despite the uncertainty that created some confusion in the market, we have seen volumes that nearly match last year’s longer Open Enrollment Period. I am happy to see so many families and individuals put this protection for their health and financial well-being in place for the year. We will be reporting our results in coming weeks in our annual End of Open Enrollment Report.”

The Open Enrollment Period for Coloradans who buy their own health insurance was 22 days shorter this year than last year’s period ¬— one that was extended three days past the original deadline of January 31, 2017, to accommodate a last-minute rush in sign-ups. The next Open Enrollment Period will begin November 1, 2018.

By the close of this year’s Open Enrollment, Coloradans had selected 165,777 medical insurance plans, an increase of 3 percent over the 160,968 medical plan selections for same date in 2017. When the last Open Enrollment Period closed on Feb. 3, 2017, the number of plan selections had reached 172,361.

Enrollments remain open through March 1, 2018, for anyone whose 2017 health plan was not offered for 2018. In addition, Coloradans who experience a qualifying life change event, such as marriage, divorce, having a child, losing their employer-sponsored insurance, or those moving into Colorado, have 60 days from that event to enroll in 2018 coverage.

Among the 2018 plan selections, 23 percent are by customers who are new to Connect for Health Colorado and 77 percent are renewing customers.

About Connect for Health Colorado
Connect for Health Colorado is a public, non-profit entity established by the Colorado General Assembly in 2011 to create a health insurance Marketplace. It opened for business on Oct. 1, 2013, for individuals, families and small employers to compare and buy health insurance and is the only place to apply for financial assistance in the form of tax credits to help lower the monthly cost of premiums. Customers can shop online; get help by phone or online chat from Customer Service Center representatives; and access free, in-person assistance from a statewide network of certified Brokers, community-based Health Coverage Guides or Application Counselors. For more information: www.connectforhealthco.com

Open Enrollment for 2018 is over unless you have an Event Change during the year

Open Enrollment Period. The yearly period when people can enroll in a health insurance plan. Open Enrollment for 2018 is over, but you may still be able to enroll in a Marketplace health insurance plan for 2018 if you qualify for a Special Enrollment Period.

Children’s health insurance has become a political hostage

The Children’s Health Insurance Program is enduring an unprecedented crisis: More than 100 days ago, funding for a program that covers 9 million kids technically expired. Republicans in Congress haven’t rushed to extend it long-term — not until they could get something in return.

CHIP is ostensibly among the most popular, most bipartisan parts of the social safety net, with proven benefits for children’s health and the financial well-being of their families. A Kaiser Family Foundation poll in November found extending its funding was the American public’s top legislative priority.

But it has been left to twist in the wind while families receive “devastating” letters from their states about the program’s possible end. CHIP funding was expiring at the end of September, but Republicans set it aside that month to pursue a last-ditch run at repealing Obamacare. Then in November, the House passed a CHIP extension, which would have cut Medicare and Obamacare funding to appease their most conservative members and cover the then-$8 billion price tag. Now, after the repeal of Obamacare’s individual mandate in the Republican tax bill, Congress could extend CHIP for a full six years at no cost to the government — and it would in fact save the government money if they extended it further.

So Republicans, after months of criticism and a stalemate over how to pay for CHIP, have decided to turn the tables: They attached a six-year CHIP extension to their short-term spending bill in an attempt to deter Democrats from shutting down the federal government this week over the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, which the two parties still haven’t agree on how to fix.

View image on Twitter

Leader McConnell

✔@SenateMajLdr

#Senate Democrats have a choice to make. This should be a no-brainer...

10:45 AM - Jan 19, 2018

Rewriting The Rules On Health Care For The Poor

WASHINGTON (AP) — Rewriting the rules on health care for the poor, the Trump administration said Thursday it will allow states to require “able-bodied” Medicaid recipients to work, a hotly debated first in the program’s half-century history.

Seema Verma, head of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, said requiring work or community involvement can make a positive difference in people’s lives and in their health. The goal is to help people move from public assistance into jobs that provide health insurance. “We see people moving off of Medicaid as a good outcome,” she said.

But advocates said work requirements will become one more hoop for low-income people to jump through, and many could be denied needed coverage because of technicalities and challenging new paperwork. Lawsuits are expected as individual states roll out work requirements.

CHP+ funding in Colorado

Senator Michael Bennet 261 Russell Senate Office Building Washington, DC 20510 Dear Senator Bennet, The Connect for Health Colorado Board of Directors is writing in support of a long-term CHP+ funding authorization. CHP+ provides health insurance for over 75,000 children in Colorado and nearly 800 pregnant women. Connect for Health Colorado has been preparing for the potential termination of the program, which will require many enrollees currently in CHP+ to transition their coverage to private health insurance through the Marketplace with Advanced Premium Tax Credits and Cost-Share Reductions if they are to maintain healthcare coverage. In addition to the disruption and expense to those Colorado families, we expect to incur at least $484,000 in costs assisting enrollment of a high percentage of these enrollees in private coverage should CHP+ termination notices be sent to enrollees. We also anticipate the need to terminate their private coverage and transition them back to CHP+ if funding for the program is reauthorized. We appreciate your consideration of this request.

Tax Reform Bill Repeal Beginning in 2019

December 20, 2017

Tax Reform Bill Includes Repeal of Individual Mandate Beginning in 2019

On Dec. 20, Congress passed the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, which makes significant changes to individual and corporate provisions of the U.S. tax code, including a reduction in the corporate tax rate to 21%, down from 35%, beginning in 2018. The bill includes permanent effective repeal of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) individual mandate, requiring individuals to purchase and maintain health coverage, by zeroing out the penalty beginning in 2019. For 2018, most individuals are still required to maintain coverage or pay a penalty when they file their 2018 federal income tax return.

The bill was negotiated by a conference committee comprised of representatives from both the Senate and House after each chamber passed their own versions of tax reform. The final bill was passed 51-48 by the Senate and 224-201 by the House before being sent to the President. President Trump is expected to sign the bill into law soon.

The bill also changes how certain tax thresholds will be indexed for inflation. Affected provisions, including the ACA “Cadillac” Tax (scheduled to take effect in 2020), will now be indexed to the Chained Consumer Price Index (CPI) instead of the regular CPI (the previous metric). That change makes it likely that more employer-sponsored plans would trigger the Cadillac tax sooner.

Judicial challenge: Expanded exemption for covering contraceptive services  
As we shared in our Oct. 13 alert, the Administration expanded the ACA contraceptive coverage exemption through the Interim Final Rules (IFRs) released by the Department of Health and Human Services on Oct. 6. On Dec. 15, a Pennsylvania federal court temporarily blocked the IFRs, ruling that the language of the ACA does not allow for such exemptions.

Since the preliminary injunction was issued by a federal court, the new IFRs cannot be enforced in any state unless or until it is removed. The injunction maintains the status quo. It does not impact exemptions or accommodations to the contraceptive coverage requirement granted prior to Oct. 6, 2017. Employers who may have been newly eligible for an exemption under the IFRs can only seek the exemption if they qualify under the previous contraceptive coverage mandate rules and follow the accommodation process. The Administration is expected to appeal this decision.

Staying informed
To stay up to date on the evolving state of health care reform, visit www.InformedonReform.com, including the new Repeal and Replace Update webpage.