Bill to Expand Access to Health Insurance Marketplace Signed

Governor Jared Polis signed Senate Bill 20 – 215 into law to help Coloradans achieve quality health care by expanding access to more affordable health insurance.

“Literally hundreds of thousands of people across the entire state will benefit,” said Adam Fox, director of strategic engagement of the Colorado Consumer Health Initiative. “Helping more Coloradans get access to quality health care isn’t just the right and moral thing to do, it is the smart thing to do,” said Adam.

The signing of the law by Gov. Polis guarantees the continued success of the state’s reinsurance program. Additionally, subsidies for many Coloradans who purchase insurance on the individual marketplace will continue to expand.

The law continues a federal fee on insurance carriers that will be reinvested in the following ways:

1.  Continue Colorado’s reinsurance program

2.  Make insurance more affordable for individual-market consumers who do not benefit from reinsurance, namely lower-income Coloradans that receive federal subsidies under the Affordable Care Act.

3.  Create affordable health insurance options for people left out of the Affordable Care Act, including individuals in the “family glitch” and those who lack proper documentation.

“This is a monumental piece of legislation for Colorado and the nation,” said Healthier Colorado executive director Jake Williams. “We are not only the first state in the nation to provide a path forward for people without proper documentation to secure private health insurance so they can seek the care they need and deserve, but we found a way to support hardworking families by fixing a common barrier to care known as the family glitch. When Coloradans are healthy, so is our economy,” said Jake.

For more information, visit: https://cohealthinitiative.org