20% of Coloradans With Individual Plans Will Have to Change Plans in 2017
June 6th, 2016 – The Colorado Division of Insurance announced that starting in 2017 approximately 20,000 consumers in Colorado will be losing their Humana and UnitedHealthcare individual health insurance policies, as those companies will no longer be offering individual plans in Colorado.
Additionally, Rocky Mountain Health Plans will no longer sell individual policies in Colorado (with the exception of Mesa County residents on the Western Slope), so about 10,000 of its members will have to change plans. Finally, Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield plans to discontinue it’s PPO plans in 2017, so over 62,000 of it’s customers will have to change plans in 2017.
This adds up to about 92,000 people with individual plans from UnitedHealthcare, Humana Insurance, RMHP and Anthem who will need help finding other coverage for 2017 during open enrollment which runs from November 1st through January 31st.
Colorado Insurance Commissioner Marguerite Salazar said, “I’d rather these companies continued in the individual market,” noted Commissioner Salazar. “But in the larger picture, what’s taking place is a market correction; the free market is at work. And it is important to recognize that this is a market correction taking place on a national scale, not just in Colorado. While it was good initially to have so many companies offering so many individual plans, this could be an indication that there were too many options for the market to support.”
New for the 2017 enrollment season, Bright Health Plans, will begin selling individual plans both on and off the exchange in Colorado.
Health insurance carriers file for significant rate increases for 2017.
“In general, the companies have indicated that the people enrolled in individual plans have used more healthcare services and with greater frequency than anticipated,” said Commissioner Salazar. “While the DOI will evaluate information provided by the companies to determine if their requested premium increases are correct, all of us in the industry must tackle the more pressing question of what is driving the increased health costs in the individual market that lead to higher premiums.”
2017 Average Requested Premium Change for Individual Health Plans, by Carrier:
| Company | Requested Overall Change* | SERFF Tracking Number** |
| Anthem BCBS (HMO Colorado) | 26.8% | AWLP-130560313 |
| Bright Health Plans*** | New to market | BRHP-130518475 |
| Cigna | 9.5% | CCGH-130510383 |
| Colorado Choice | 36.33% | COHP-130547449 |
| Denver Health | 0.08% | DVHH-130565984 |
| Freedom Life Insurance | 9.98% | USHG-130545454 |
| Golden Rule | 40.6% | AMMS-130560610 |
| Kaiser Foundation Health Plan of CO | 13.6% | KFHP-130552059 |
| National Foundation Life | 9.98% | USHG-130545468 |
| Rocky Mountain HMO | 34.6% | LEIF-130564677 |
The filings from the companies are available for review on DOI’s Health Insurance Filings page. During the review period, Colorado consumers can submit public comments on the filings, which will be reviewed and considered by the Division of Insurance. The DOI encourages consumers to submit comments no later than July 6, 2016, so they can be included as part of the review of the filings.
Tips on filing an online comment: When viewing the filings online, there will be a section for comments within each filing. Click on the “Add” link in the “Comments” column of the filing of interest. The user will be prompted to enter his/her name, city and state of residence, email address, and the comment.
After the Colorado Division of Insurance completes its review and analysis in late September / early October, it will notify carriers and Connect for Health Colorado of the approved plans for 2017.
Source: Colorado Division of Insurance.
