Colorado health insurance

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status report:
Colorado state health insurance exchange

What progress is being made in setting up its federally-mandated Colorado state health insurance exchange?"

About state health insurance exchanges

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How did Colorado officials vote on health reform?

H.R.2: Repealing the Health Care Bill

#14

Date of Vote: 1/19/2011 Status: House passed 245-189, 1 not voting

HOUSE|SENATE

1/19/2011--Passed House amended. Repealing the Job-Killing Health Care Law Act - Repeals the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, effective as of its enactment. Restores provisions of law amended by such Act. Repeals the health care provisions of the Health Care and Education and Reconciliation Act of 2010, effective as of the Act's enactment. Restores provisions of law amended by the Act's health care provisions. [more]

Yes (4)

• Mike Coffman
• Cory Gardner

• Doug Lamborn
• Scott Tipton

Our
Pick

No (3)

• Diana DeGette
• Ed Perlmutter

• Jared Polis

how healthy is living in Colorado?

Colorado is now ranked as the 13th healthiest state to live in, according to the 2010 America's Health Rankings® by the United Health Foundation, falling from its #8 ranking from 2009.

The good news:

• Colorado has the lowest rate of obesity in the nation, at 18.9 percent of the overall population of the state.
• It is also one of few states to show a decrease in obesity since 2009.
• The state also places in the top five states for its low rates of deaths due to cardiovascular disease and cancer, with 228.7 and 166.8 deaths, respectively, per 100,000 members of the population.
• Positive changes in Colorado include a decrease in the rate of smoking since 2005 and the rate of infant mortality since 1990.

The bad news:

• Colorado saw a significant decrease since last year in percentage of immunization coverage for infants between the ages of 19 and 35 months, from 92.1 percent to 85 percent. The change was enough to drop Colorado from 13th place to 48th place in that category.
• Other challenges facing Colorado include a relatively high percentage of uninsured population (15.6 percent) and an increasing percentage of children in poverty (up from last year's 14.4 percent to 18.2 percent of the population under 18).

more details

• See the United Health Foundation's latest findings on Colorado.
• Trust for America's Health ia another source for key Colorado health quality findings. In addition, 2010's federal health reform, the Affordable Care Act (ACA), included the creation of a prevention fund to provide more than $16 billion over the next 10 years to invest in effective, proven prevention efforts, like childhood obesity prevention and tobacco cessation, and the site has a report on how it impacts Colorado here.

get local health results

State snapshot too large? Get county-by-county health rankings for Colorado, from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the Population Health Institute at the University of Wisconsin.

does Colorado have a health insurance high risk pool?

CoverColorado
(303) 863-1960 or toll-free 1-866-787-9129 (M-F 8am–5pm)

IMPORTANT UPDATE: Starting in 2010, Colorado started offering health care insurance coverage to residents through the federally established temporary high-risk pool program. To find out more about Colorado's participation, click here.

Risk pools are state-sponsored programs to help people with a history of medical problems in their family to purchase coverage. These pools are for people who can afford to buy health insurance, but are not able to get underwritten in the private market because of a pre-existing health condition. These programs can vary significantly from state to state in price, benefits and number of people served. Often insurance companies doing business in the state are required to contribute to the pool to keep it in the black. In the best cases, they allow people to be able to switch jobs or become self-employed without the fear of losing their health insurance coverage. Read more about risk pools here.

how to find health insurance in Colorado

Cover The Uninsured is a national effort to highlight the fact that too many Americans are living without health insurance and to demand solutions from our nation's leaders. Read more information on its efforts. It is a project of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.

• Cover The Uninsured's facts on the uninsured in Colorado and all other states.
• The Foundation for Health Coverage Education's guide on how to find health insurance in Colorado.
• Materiales En Español – Guías para encontrar cobertura de seguro de salud.

Georgetown's Colorado health insurance guide

Georgetown University's Health Policy Institute has researched and written state-by-state guides for finding and keeping health insurance. It updates these guides as federal and state policies change. A number of non-profit organizations help fund its research. Learn more about the Health Policy Institute.

Review Georgetown's guide for Colorado.

Health insurance plan report cards for Colorado

The National Committee for Quality Assurance is a private, non-profit organization that, among other things, provides health care plan report cards for consumers.

Go here to search for Colorado health insurance plan report cards.

Colorado government health insurance resources

State of Colorado Division of Insurance – The State of Colorado's department of insurance provides official information all types of insurance.

Having trouble resolving a claims dispute with your health insurance company? You can file a complaint with this online complaint form, or write:

Colorado Division of Insurance
1560 Broadway, Suite 850
Denver, CO 80202
Phone: 303.894.7499 OR 800.930.3745

Colorado coverage for children and pregnant women – Child Health Plan Plus is a low-cost health insurance program for uninsured Colorado children ages 18 and under whose families earn or own too much to qualify for Medicaid but cannot afford private insurance. The CHP+ Prenatal Care Program offers free health insurance to uninsured Colorado pregnant women who live in households that meet certain income requirements.

Colorado Department of Health Care Policy and Financing – The state agency responsible for the administration of the Medicaid program, Child Health Plan Plus, and the Colorado Indigent Care program, the Department of Health Care Policy and Financing.

Department of Insurance 2004 Complaint Ratios of Insurance Companies (most recent statistics available) – PDF documents outlining the number of consumer complaints lodged against insurance companies.

Information about Medicaid in Colorado – General Questions about Health Care and Medicaid, Medicaid and Managed Care and questions regarding the Web Portal Application

Colorado Senior Health Insurance Assistance Program (SHIP) – provides free counseling for Medicare beneficiaries with questions about Medicare.

Colorado Medicaid Medicaid is the government program to help poor and indigent get health care services. Pregnant women and children 18 and under who meet income requirements may be eligible for Medicaid, as well as the aged, blind and disabled.

Federal Government sites with specific Colorado Information

National Mental Health Information Centers listing of Colorado Mental Health Resources published by the United States Department of Health and Human Services

Colorado population statistics from the US Census Bureau, 2000 Census.

health care advocacy groups in Colorado

Colorado Progressive Action – Colorado Progressive Action has joined with hundreds of nurses, doctors, small business owners, faith-based groups, people of color organizations, women's groups, and seniors to demand and win a guarantee of quality, affordable health care for everyone. Through the Health Care for America Now! Campaign, CPA is mobilizing communities to ensure that the first order of business for the new President and Congress in 2009 will be to pass health care legislation that guarantees quality, affordable health care for all. CPA is also calling for regulation on health insurance companies, who should no longer be allowed to put their profits before Americans' health.

Health Care for All Colorado – is a Colorado nonprofit organization working for universal health care under a single-payer system for all people living in Colorado.