The Colorado Option is a standardized insurance plan designed by the Colorado state government that health insurance companies are required to provide at reduced premiums. The plans are sometimes described as a "quasi-public health insurance option" due to their use of public-private partnerships instead of a government-run, single-payer system.[1][2][3]
History
editColorado is the second state in the United States to pass a "hybrid" public option system, following Washington's passage of Cascade Select in 2019.[4][5]
The Colorado Option passed its first committee vote in March 2020, but action on the bill was delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[6]
Partnership for America’s Health Care Future, a healthcare lobbying group, advocated against the law in 2021. The group sent out anti-public-option mailers during the legislative period before the legislature abandoned the single-payer public option. Anti-reform groups spent over a million dollars on TV ads opposing the Colorado Option.[7]
Colorado passed the law enacting the program in May 2021.[8]
Structure
editThe Colorado Option comes in three plan tiers: bronze, silver, and gold.[9] The plans require certain benefits at predetermined costs. Insurance companies compete with costs of premiums and quality of service rather than coverage.[5]
The plan only applies to individuals who purchase health insurance on the open market or are employed by a company with 100 employees or fewer. Since half of Colorado's residents receive insurance through a job and one third receive healthcare through a federal program such as Medicare or Medicaid, only 470,000 Colorado residents (about 8%) as of 2023 were eligible for the hybrid option.[8]
Effects
editFunding
editThe Colorado Option was expected to save the US federal government $13.3 million in 2023 and up to $147.9 million in 2027 through the use of 1332 waivers.[10] The waiver allows for federal funds to enter the Colorado Option system as pass-through funds. In 2023, $245 million in federal funds went into the program to reduce premiums.[11][12]
See also
editReferences
edit- ↑ "Colorado Option: Increasing Transparency and Driving Down Costs Through Enhanced Rate Review | Center on Health Insurance Reforms". Retrieved 2026-06-22.
- ↑ Vo, Jesse Paul, Thy (2021-04-26). "Colorado Democrats will drop public option from their public option health care bill after industry pushback". The Colorado Sun. Retrieved 2026-06-22.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ↑ "State Public Option–Style Laws: What Policymakers Need to Know". www.commonwealthfund.org. 2021-07-23. Retrieved 2026-06-22.
- ↑ "Washingtonians to get public option on state's health-insurance exchange". The Seattle Times. 2019-05-13. Retrieved 2026-06-22.
- 1 2 Chatlani, Shalina (2026-03-02). "States try 'public option' Obamacare plans to reduce coverage costs • Stateline". Stateline. Retrieved 2026-06-22.
- ↑ "Colorado lawmakers shelve contentious hybrid public option bill amid pandemic". The Denver Post. 2020-05-04. Retrieved 2026-06-22.
- ↑ Fish, Sandra (2021-04-29). "Dark-money nonprofit spends record amount lobbying against Democrats' effort to shrink health care costs". The Colorado Sun. Retrieved 2026-06-22.
- 1 2 Ingold, John (2021-05-13). "Colorado Democrats' big health insurance bill might deliver the nation's lowest premiums. But much is still unclear". The Colorado Sun. Retrieved 2026-06-22.
- ↑ Ingold, John (2023-03-24). "Health insurers balk at price demands in Colorado governor's signature health insurance program". The Colorado Sun. Retrieved 2026-06-22.
- ↑ Ingold, John (2022-06-23). "Colorado moves one step closer to a government-designed health insurance plan". The Colorado Sun. Retrieved 2026-06-22.
- ↑ "Biden Administration Recognizes Colorado's First in the Nation Health Cost Savings Program and Awards $245 Million to State | Colorado Governor Jared Polis". governorsoffice.colorado.gov. Retrieved 2026-06-22.
- ↑ "Colorado Division of Insurance to receive $245-M in federal funding". LongmontLeader. 2023-08-31. Retrieved 2026-06-22.