Contact: Connect for Health Colorado, Luke Clarke, 720-496-2545, LClarke@Connectforhealthco.com
DENVER — A third party, non-partisan healthcare group ranked the Connect for Health Colorado® website second among the 12 state-based health insurance marketplaces and HealthCare.gov, in a report card issued this week.
The Clear Choices Campaign released its second annual report card for health insurance marketplaces on Tuesday. The group represents patients, providers, insurers, employers and life science companies. Clear Choices reviewed the Quick Cost and Plan Finder tool developed by Connect for Health Colorado and ranked it for delivering a high-quality online experience allowing customers to evaluate key health plan details. Only three marketplaces – DC Health Link, Connect for Health Colorado, and HealthCare.gov – offer all three decision-support tools considered the gold standard of informed consumer choice; an out-of-pocket cost calculator, integrated provider directory, and integrated drug directory. Click to view the 2017 report card. The full white paper with in-depth analysis can be found here.
Connect for Health Colorado and the Center for Improving Value in Health Care (CIVHC) partnered to develop the Quick Cost and Plan Finder tool that will enable consumers to see:
- Whether they may qualify for financial assistance to lower their monthly premiums and other costs, such as copays and deductibles.
- An estimate of annual out-of-pocket costs, based on their expected health care usage.
- Plans that include their preferred doctors, facilities and/or medications.
“We’re very proud of this honor from Clear Choices and believe we play a critical role in helping our customers get as complete a picture of their costs as possible when they shop for coverage on our Marketplace,” said Kevin Patterson, CEO of Connect for Health Colorado. “When customers better understand the health insurance they choose, they are better equipped to get the full value of their health plan.”
The tool equips consumers with an estimate of overall costs — including such things as co-pays, co-insurance and other “out-of-pocket” expenses — relying on data within the Colorado All Payer Claims Database (CO APCD), which is administered by the Center for Improving Value in Health Care (CIVHC). The CO APCD is Colorado’s most comprehensive source of health care claims information. It includes data from 510 million health insurance claims from 21 health insurance companies, Medicaid and Medicare.
“Shopping for health plans can be confusing, and this tool helps Coloradans understand how different plans may impact their out-of-pocket costs throughout the year,” states Ana English, President and CEO for CIVHC. “By combining CO APCD data with health plan data, we are providing a missing piece of the puzzle for customers making important health care decisions.”
Development of the tool was funded by a grant from the Colorado Health Foundation.
Connect for Health Colorado announced it is giving consumers who attempted to enroll by the Jan. 31 deadline until 6p.m Friday, Feb. 3 to complete their enrollment. Friday will be the last day to purchase coverage this year, except for customers who experience a qualifying life change event, such as marriage, divorce, having a child, losing your employer-sponsored insurance, or moving to Colorado. Customers who are on hold at 6 p.m. Friday, or in the in the process of enrolling on line, will be permitted to complete their enrollment. One of the easiest ways to get help enrolling for many consumers is by going to one of the 18 statewide walk-in enrollment centers.
About Clear Choices
Founded in 2015 by the Council for Affordable Health Coverage, the Clear Choices Campaign is a multi-stakeholder advocacy campaign designed to promote health care transparency and offer better comparison shopping tools for consumers. Members include AARP, Aetna, HealthCare.com, Novo Nordisk, and the National Consumers League
About Connect for Health Colorado
Connect for Health Colorado is a public, non-profit entity established in law by the Colorado General Assembly in 2011 to create a health insurance Marketplace. It opened for business on Oct. 1, 2013, for individuals, families and small employers to compare and buy health insurance and apply for tax credits to help make their insurance more affordable. Customers can shop online; get help by phone or chat from expert Customer Service Center representatives; and find in-person assistance from certified brokers and agents, community based certified Health Coverage Guides or Certified Application Counselors. In 2016, the Marketplace enrolled more than 170,000 Coloradans in private insurance and helped more than 100,000 gain access to new tax credits that made their health coverage more affordable – all while keeping fees among the lowest in the country. For more information: www.connectforhealthco.com
About CIVHC
CIVHC (civhc.org) is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization that helps Colorado identify ways to pay for, deliver and select high value health care. Through the pioneering Colorado All Payer Claims Database, we offer the state’s most comprehensive health care cost, quality and utilization claims data. We unlock information and provide tools and insights that guide meaningful action to improve health, enhance quality and lower cost. Bringing together a broad spectrum of organizations and individuals to design and drive collective change, CIVHC is devoted to a single cause: advancing an exceptional health care system for Colorado.