The health insurance cooperative Colorado HealthOP announced in October that it would give up its legal options and begin shutting down operations. The 83,000 Colorado residents who used the co-op must choose a different insurance plan during the Connect for Health Colorado exchange open enrollment period.Former co-op members who decided to switch to United Healthcare could face another round of change at the end of 2016. United Healthcare has announced it will likely eliminate or severely reduce its ACA exchange business at the end of the 2016 plan year.Colorado HealthOP issued a Notice of Rehabilitation to its members in November, according to the ìFAQs Regarding Closureî document the co-op referenced in lieu of comment. The notice informed members that the Colorado Commissioner of Insurance determined the co-op did not have enough financial reserves to meet Colorado law’s minimum requirements. Members’ policies will expire Dec. 31, and members would have 12 months from the plan termination date to file any claims for medical care received before the termination date.Connect for Health Colorado, the state’s health insurance exchange set up as part of the Affordable Care Act, has resources available to help Colorado HealthOP members find new insurance plans. Private companies and organizations are also offering help to exchange members, but few are taking them up on it.ìWe haven’t had many people take us up on our ACA help offer,î said Jeremy Kniffen, owner of Liberty Tax in Falcon. ìI think it’s more frustration and dislike of change than anything. People think, ‘Now I have to go through the marketplace and then all of a sudden the plan disappears.í”Insurance agents are frustrated with the changes and canceled plans as well, said Janet McMonigal of Top Peak Insurance in Falcon. ìIt’s just too screwed up, so I put a period on the end of my health insurance business this year,î McMonigal said. ìIt’s a huge burden on the insurance companies as well, because they can’t change things on a dime. Everything ñ- all the plan details and premiums ó have to be submitted and approved by the division of insurance.îExisting members of the remaining health insurance companies like Kaiser Permanente shouldn’t worry about service issues or increased waits to see doctors from the co-op’s collapse, said Holly Kortum, executive director for Kaiser Permanente’s Southern Colorado’s service area.ìWe’ve been really staffing up anyway and certainly preparing more with this recent change,î Kortum said. ìChanging health insurance is always a tough thing, so we’ve tried to have things in place to assist.îKaiser Permanente added a new vendor to help potential new members looking for new exchange plans, Kortum said. ìAlso, in Southern Colorado we have a resource team ó a local team of folks right here in Southern Colorado ó to help members with questions they may have,î Kortum said.Colorado HealthOP members who ignore the notices from the co-op or thought they would be auto-renewed each year will face substantial fines, Kniffen said. ìWhen ACA first started, the fines weren’t that big a deal, but now if you choose not to or don’t meet one of the exemptions it can be a big deal,î Kniffen said.The penalty for not having insurance, officially known as the individual shared responsibility payment, is increasing in 2016. The fee will be $695 per adult and $347.50 per child under 18 in the family, or 2.5 percent of the household income, whichever is higher. If any member of the household is uninsured for more than two months, the penalty is prorated for the part of the year they are uninsured.ìThey have until Jan. 31 for open enrollment,î Kniffen said. ìThere is no exemption for ignorance. Without a life event, they won’t be able to get back in, if they miss the deadline. There are a lot of exemptions for people who are low or lower income. There are ways to get out of the penalties Ö we can help them get through that exemption process.îPeople also are concerned their current doctor might not belong to another insurance companyís network. ìWe contract with hundreds of network physicians,î Kortum said. ìThere is a likelihood, although it’s not 100 percent, that their current physician could already be in the K.P. network.îKaiser Permanente and other ACA-compliant providers have been increasing their network since the start of the ACA exchange system to ensure they don’t overwhelm the existing infrastructure. ìWe’ve been staffing up for several years to make sure there aren’t access concerns,î Kortum said.The remaining exchange insurance providers are trying to reassure their ACA exchange plan members that they are committed to continuing operating after Colorado HealthOP and United Healthcare’s announcements. ìWe remain strongly committed to continuing in the health exchanges,î Kortum said. ìWe want to make sure we provide health care to as many people as possible at affordable rates in the Southern Colorado market.îThe open enrollment period for exchange plans continues until Jan. 31, but Colorado HealthOP members must enroll in a new plan by Dec. 15 to avoid a gap in coverage with the new year. Colorado’s health insurance marketplace is online at http://connectforhealthco.com.
