Colorado: 24K QHPs thru 11/15; make sure to SHOP AROUND for a better deal!

Connect for Health Colorado® Reports Coloradans are Shopping Around for 2020 Coverage

DENVER – Nearly 24,000 Coloradans have signed up for a health insurance plan through Connect for Health Colorado’s Marketplace between Nov. 1 and Nov. 15. for coverage starting Jan. 1, 2020.

More Coloradans buying their own health insurance are seeing lower premiums, largely due to the reinsurance program that passed this year. Reinsurance helps insurers with their most costly claims. However, given the complexities of how financial help available through the Marketplace is calculated, current customers should shop around to reduce monthly costs.

Heh. This is a pretty good layman-speak for #ReverseSilverLoading.

On average, those who qualify to automatically renew their plan would lower their premiums by 15 percent (compared to 2019) if they switch to the lowest-cost plan in their current level of coverage.

Again: Don't let yourself be auto-renewed! Actively shop around. You may still end up sticking with the same plan, but between silver loading, reverse silver loading and other changes, you could be missing out on a better value or be hit with sticker shock.

It's also important to note that the "15% lower premiums" almost certainly refers to unsubsidized enrollees only.

Almost 98 percent of returning customers so far have shopped around and signed up for a different plan in their current level of coverage to take advantage of savings in 2020.

Wow. That's pretty unprecedented, I think.

“I am encouraged that our message to actively compare plans and review plan options is resonating,” said Connect for Health Colorado® CEO Kevin Patterson. “With less than a month until the deadline for January coverage, we continue to remind customers to take the time to shop in order to find the best value.”

During the two-week period, 23,930 Coloradans made medical plan selections. Approximately 20 percent of the plan selections are by customers who are new to Connect for Health Colorado for 2020, and 80 percent are returning customers. About 70 percent of applicants are qualifying for financial help to lower monthly costs.

“Shopping for a plan is more important this year, no matter which part of the state you live in or whether you qualify for financial help,” said Patterson. “We have hundreds of enrollment experts ready to help people understand how lower rates in their community affects their health insurance options and prices. We want to ensure that Coloradans know we are here to help them through the shopping process.”

In 2020, eight health insurance companies will be offering a total 130 plans through the Marketplace.

Open Enrollment started Nov. 1, 2019 and runs through Jan. 15, 2020. Consumers must sign up for a plan by Dec. 15, 2019 to have coverage in place by Jan. 1, 2020.