health insurance exchange

Insurance companies that want to do business in Colorado in 2014, including being part of the new health insurance exchange, have submitted proposed plans to the state's Division of Insurance, and preliminary details were posted online last week.

But don't rush to your computer. What's posted online now is arcane and pretty hard to decipher. More consumer-friendly cost information, along with marketing materials and details about networks and doctors, hospitals and providers, will be available after July 31.

Starting this week, the Colorado health insurance exchange has a new name and website – "Connect for Health Colorado" and www.connectforhealthco.org.

The website is designed to help people understand how the new exchange will work, how it affects different populations and to answer questions about health insurance and the operation of the exchange.

Coloradans can begin using the exchange to shop for health insurance on Oct. 1, 2013; the insurance will take effect on Jan. 1, 2014.

Saturday is the third anniversary of the passage of the Affordable Care Act. In that time, the law has survived legal challenges that went all of the way to the U.S. Supreme Court as well as opposition during the 2012 elections. Most of the Affordable Care Act will be implemented by the end of 2014.

(Op-ed in Steamboat Pilot)

By Bob Semro

At a time when political bipartisanship is a rare event, state leaders from both parties and business and consumer groups successfully reached agreement on a matter of real substance. Even more surprising, it was about health care reform.

Gov. John Hickenlooper today signed Senate Bill 184, which will create a one-year tax amnesty program and also will establish an annual tax expenditure report that will give lawmakers a complete picture of state revenues as they make spending decisions.

The tax amnesty program is a reasonable mechanism to bring in more tax revenues this year, when we really need them. However, we believe the tax expenditure report will have greater long-term impact for Colorado.