Health Care Coverage Profile:

Colorado

HEALTH COVERAGE AT A GLANCE 1

More Coloradans get their insurance from their employers than any other coverage option. 56.6% of
Colorado residents are covered by employer-sponsored insurance plans, while the national average for this
type of insurance stands at 52.3%.

Fewer Coloradans are covered under Medicaid as compared to the national average. Only 8.6% of
Colorado residents receive health insurance through Medicaid, while the national Medicaid average is
14.1%. Additionally, 9.6% of Colorado residents are Medicare beneficiaries and 6.7% obtain health
insurance coverage through individual plans.

Colorado has a higher uninsured population than many other states, with 16.2% uninsured residents, as
compared to the national average of 15.4%. Additionally, 13.3% of Colorado’s children remain uninsured.

Health Insurance Coverage of the

Total Population of Colorado Compared to United States

Employer
12.4 15.4
United States 52.3 4.7 14.1 1.2 Individual
Medicaid
Medicare
9.6 Other Public
56.6 6.7 8.6 16.2
Colorado 2.4
Uninsured

0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%

CHANGES IN INSURANCE COVERAGE TYPE IN COLORADO 2

Coloradans experienced a shift in health insurance coverage between 2007-2008 that increased the
number of people insured by public health plans. Between 2007 and 2008, the number of uninsured
residents decreased 0.4%. Additionally, Colorado residents covered through the individual market
decreased by 0.5%, while those covered by employers also decreased 1.0%.

One possible reason that less Colorado residents received health insurance in the individual and employer
market could have been due to the 0.7% increase in Medicaid coverage. However, an estimated $30 billion
was spent on health care (public and private spending) in Colorado in FY 2007-2008. That was 77% more

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National Coalition on Health Care July 2010
than what was spent in Colorado in 2000.3
Colorado: Percent Change Among Non-elderly by Coverage Type, 2007-2008 4
Colorado U.S.
Employer Sponsored Insurance -1.0% -1.2%
Individual Market -0.5% -0.2%
Medicaid 0.7% 1.0%
Other Public 1.2% 0.2%
Uninsured -0.4% 0.2%
THE PATIENT PROTECTION AND AFFORDABLE CARE ACT (ACA) AND HEALTH INSURANCE COVERAGE 5

Individual Mandate
Starting in January of 2014, all individuals will be required to have a certain minimum level of health
insurance. Failure to purchase a minimum level of health insurance will result in a penalty of no greater
than $695 for an individual or $2,085 per family. The individual mandate is expected to help decrease the
number of uninsured in Colorado.
Health Insurance Exchanges and Federal Subsidies
Each state will create and administer a health insurance exchange. There will be two separate exchanges,
one for individuals seeking to purchase insurance on the individual market and another for employers. The
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) will establish a minimum benefit package that insurance
companies must offer if they wish to be included in the exchange. For Colorado residents who earn
between 133% and 400% of the federal poverty level 6 may be eligible for individual tax credits.
Employer Coverage
As of 2007, 19.2% of Colorado’s working population was uninsured. 7 Generally, small businesses cannot
afford to offer health insurance; thus, only 38.1% of private businesses with fewer than 50 employees offer
health insurance, while 98.4% of private businesses with more than 50 employees offer health insurance. 8
In order to help small business employees gain access to employer-based health insurance coverage, ACA
provides a tax credit to qualifying small businesses that offer health insurance.
Additionally, while ACA does not require employers to provide health insurance to employees, employers
with 50 or more employees will be assessed a fee of $2,000 per full-time employee (excluding the first 30
employees) if they do not offer coverage and if they have at least one employee who receives a premium
credit through an exchange.
Medicaid Expansion
Medicaid will be expanded to all individuals under age 65 with incomes up to 133% of the federal poverty
level. This builds upon the previous state led initiative to cover childless adults with HR-09 1293. The table
below illustrates the expansion based on legislation and federal poverty level. 9

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National Coalition on Health Care July 2010
1
THE KAISER FAMILY FOUNDATION, statehealthfacts.org. Data Source: Urban Institute and Kaiser Commission on Medicaid and the Uninsured
estimates based on the Census Bureau's March 2008 and 2009 Current Population Survey (CPS: Annual Social and Economic
Supplements), available at http://www.statehealthfacts.org:/comparetable.jsp?ind=125&cat=3 (last accessed June 2010).
2
Unless otherwise cited: THE KAISER FAMILY FOUNDATION, statehealthfacts.org. Data Source: Urban Institute and Kaiser Commission on
Medicaid and the Uninsured estimates based on the Census Bureau's March 2008 and 2009 Current Population Survey (CPS: Annual
Social and Economic Supplements), available at http://www.statehealthfacts.org/comparetable.jsp?ind=165&cat=3 (last accessed July
2010).
3
COLORADO TRUST, GOVERNOR’S DIALOGUE ON HEALTH CARE VISION AND VALUES (2007), available at
http://www.coloradotrust.org/attachments/0000/9353/GovernorDialogueGuide.pdf (last accessed June 2010).
4
THE KAISER FAMILY FOUNDATION, statehealthfacts.org. Data Source: Urban Institute and Kaiser Commission on Medicaid and the Uninsured
estimates based on the Census Bureau's March 2008 and 2009 Current Population Survey (CPS: Annual Social and Economic
Supplements), available at http://www.statehealthfacts.org/comparetable.jsp?ind=165&cat=3 (last accessed July 2010).
5
Unless otherwise cited: The Kaiser Family Foundation, Summary of New Health Reform Law (2010), available at
http://www.kff.org/healthreform/upload/8061.pdf (last accessed June 2010).
6
The federal poverty level for the 48 contiguous states is $10,830 for a single individual. ASSISTANT SEC'Y FOR PLANNING AND EVALUATION, U.S.
DEP’T OF HEALTH & HUMAN SVCS. THE 2009 HHS POVERTY GUIDELINES (2010), available at http://aspe.hhs.gov/poverty/09poverty.shtml (last
accessed June 2010).
7
COVER THE UNINSURED, ROBERT WOOD JOHNSON FOUNDATION, U.S. UNINSURED WORKERS, available at
http://covertheuninsured.org/uninsured_workers#map (last accessed June 2010). These figures are from 2006-2007.
8
U.S. DEP’T OF HEALTH & HUMAN SVCS. MEDICAL EXPENDITURE PANEL SURVEY (2008), available at
http://www.meps.ahrq.gov/mepsweb/data_stats/summ_tables/insr/state/series_2/2008/ic08_iia_f.pdf (last accessed June 2010). These
figures are from 2008.
9
COLORADO HEALTH INSTITUTE, HEALTH INSURANCE COVERAGE AMONG LOW-INCOME ADULTS IN COLORADO (2010), available at
http://www.coloradohealthinstitute.org/~/media/Documents/Legislative/EBNEadults.ashx (last accessed June 2010).

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National Coalition on Health Care July 2010