{"id":123510,"date":"2025-08-06T11:54:22","date_gmt":"2025-08-06T11:54:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/123510\/"},"modified":"2025-08-06T11:54:22","modified_gmt":"2025-08-06T11:54:22","slug":"colorado-lawmakers-must-start-over-on-health-care-policy-house-speaker-says-as-federal-changes-send-insurance-rates-surging-3","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/123510\/","title":{"rendered":"Colorado lawmakers must \u2018start over\u2019 on health care policy, House speaker says, as federal changes send insurance rates surging"},"content":{"rendered":"

\t\t\t\t\t\"\"Colorado Senate President James Coleman, left, and House Speaker Julie McCluskie listen to economic forecasters’ and state department heads’ talk about the impacts of the new federal tax law during a meeting at the Capitol building on Wednesday, July 30.<\/strong>
Robert Tann\/Vail Daily<\/p>\n

Colorado House Speaker Julie McCluskie said state lawmakers will need to \u201cstart over\u201d on health care policy to address the seismic market changes spurred by congressional Republicans\u2019 sweeping tax and spending cut law<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Economic forecasters and state department heads on Wednesday painted a bleak picture of the tax law\u2019s impacts on Colorado in a meeting with legislative leaders.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Along with creating a $1 billion deficit<\/a> in the state\u2019s current budget as a result of tax cuts, the law is already putting pressure on lawmakers to try and contain a surge in health insurance premiums<\/a> that is expected to hit next year.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cNow is the moment for us to be as creative, imaginative \u2014 to think differently outside the box, to start over \u2014 with what we do with health care in this state,\u201d said McCluskie, a Dillon Democrat.<\/p>\n

She added that \u201cthis next session, we have got to address what is going on with health insurance and go back to the drawing board and figure out: \u2018How do we make sure that people can find (and) access affordable health care.’\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n


\nSupport Local JournalismDonate \n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Coloradans enrolled in health insurance through the state\u2019s marketplace, Connect for Health Colorado, could see their premiums increase by an average of 28%<\/a> in 2026, according to the preliminary premium rates requested by insurers.<\/p>\n

On the Western Slope, the average premium increase could be 38% in 2026. Nearly 300,000 people enrolled in health insurance through Connect for Health Colorado at the start of this year.\u00a0<\/p>\n

A subsidy cliff\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

Officials say the spike is being driven by the tax law\u2019s changes to Affordable Care Act<\/a> marketplaces, like Connect for Health Colorado, where families and individuals can shop for and enroll in private health insurance plans and receive federal subsidies.<\/p>\n

The law imposes new paperwork requirements, ends automatic re-enrollment, shortens enrollment periods and blocks lawfully present immigrants \u2014\u00a0such as asylum-seekers and refugees \u2014 from receiving subsidized plans. But the biggest change is what\u2019s not in the bill.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The tax law did not include an extension of enhanced premium tax credits for marketplace plans that were passed under former President Joe Biden. They are set to lapse at the end of this year.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The tax credits boosted subsidies for those making below 400% of the federal poverty line, and, for the first time, expanded access to subsidized plans for those making over 400%.<\/p>\n

In Colorado, 400% of the federal poverty line equals $62,600 a year for an individual and $128,600 for a family of four.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"\"A pediatric room is pictured at Mountain Family Health Center\u2019s Avon clinic on March 11, 2025. Health care advocates are warning that impending federal cuts to Medicaid could hit rural Colorado hardest.Chris Dillmann\/Vail Daily<\/p>\n

Colorado Division of Insurance Director Mike Conway said the subsidies have helped keep annual premium costs to 8.5% of a person\u2019s income, which, for a family of four making $128,000, would be around $11,000.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cAnything over $11,000, they were subsidized for,\u201d Conway said. \u201cIf their insurance coverage was $25,000, they got a premium tax credit of $14,000 in order to help them actually be able to get coverage for their family. It was a game changer.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

The subsidies were credited with driving record Affordable Care Act enrollment<\/a> in Colorado and nationally.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Once those subsidies expire, an estimated 110,000 Coloradans could be at risk of losing access to health care coverage on the state marketplace, Conway said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

He also stressed that projected rate increases next year are an average. In areas like the Western Slope, where the average rate increase could be 38%, some premiums may jump as much as 60%, Conway said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The overall net increase, however, could still be even greater for those making above the 400% poverty line \u2014 like a family of four making $128,000 \u2014\u00a0who will face both higher premiums and a complete loss of subsidies.\u00a0<\/p>\n

On the Western Slope, for example, Conway said the overall increase in annual premiums next year for that family could be $25,000.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Mountain resort areas continue to face the highest health insurance costs<\/a> and lowest rates of enrollment<\/a> in the state.\u00a0<\/p>\n

McCluskie said that while a household income of $128,000 for a family of four \u201csounds like a lot of money,\u201d in her district, where some residents have had to pay even more in health insurance than they do on housing, \u201cthe math doesn\u2019t work.\u201d<\/p>\n

Scrambling for solutions\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

Lawmakers expressed frustration that efforts to lower health care premiums, such as creating a reinsurance program in 2019 to help insurers cover high-cost claims, are now being undone by the federal changes.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cIt feels like we are taking 100 steps backward when we had finally been able to see some progress,\u201d McCluskie said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The state\u2019s reinsurance program is estimated to have saved over $2 billion collectively on premiums since it launched, but it is now slated to see a 40% funding cut next year as a result of the drop in federal subsidies, according to Conway.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"\"An ambulance parks near the emergency room at St. Anthony Summit Hospital in Frisco on Feb. 25, 2025. Residents in Colorado\u2019s ski towns have long contended with some of the highest-cost health insurance plans in the country.Andrew Maciejewski\/Summit Daily News<\/p>\n

Senate President James Coleman, a Denver Democrat, asked Conway what his plan is to \u201cprioritize the reinsurance program and stabilize it as best as possible.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Conway said he wants to continue conversations with the Legislature to get more funding into the program through \u201cwhatever ways we can.\u201d The program is partially funded through fees on premiums collected by insurers.\u00a0<\/p>\n

He added that other state-run affordability measures, such as the Health Insurance Buy-In program and OmniSalud, which helps undocumented immigrants afford and enroll in private health insurance, should also be prioritized.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Lawmakers have said they\u2019ll be in a dire fiscal position, however, as the federal tax law\u2019s spending cuts further complicate the state\u2019s budget woes.\u00a0<\/p>\n

In the coming years, Colorado will see a reduction in Medicaid funding<\/a> as the federal government limits matching funds<\/a> and shifts more of the program\u2019s costs to states.\u00a0<\/p>\n

New Medicaid work requirements and reauthorization periods, slated to go into effect in 2027, will also put further financial strain on state and county departments that administer the Medicaid program in Colorado.\u00a0<\/p>\n

When it comes to insurance premiums, McCluskie asked Conway if there\u2019s still time for Congress to pass an extension of the subsidies before they expire at the end of this year.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Conway said Congress would need to approve legislation within a matter of weeks for insurers to be able to readjust for 2026, adding that the \u201cwindow is closing very, very rapidly, and there hasn\u2019t been any indication from leadership at the federal level\u201d that they\u2019re interested in extending the subsidies.\u00a0<\/p>\n

McCluskie said it was still worth pushing lawmakers in Congress to act.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ll start calling today,\u201d she said.\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Colorado Senate President James Coleman, left, and House Speaker Julie McCluskie listen to economic forecasters’ and state department…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":123511,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[35],"tags":[210,1141,1142,67,132,68],"class_list":{"0":"post-123510","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-health-care","8":"tag-health","9":"tag-health-care","10":"tag-healthcare","11":"tag-united-states","12":"tag-unitedstates","13":"tag-us"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/114981690607511301","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/123510","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=123510"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/123510\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/123511"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=123510"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=123510"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=123510"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}