The new Colorado health insurance program for people with pre-existing conditions is supposed to become available next week, but there seems to still be a lot of confusion about how it’s going to work. Since Colorado already has a policy available for people with pre-existing conditions (Cover Colorado), we are one of the states that is opting to use the federal money to set up another risk pool for applicants who cannot qualify for medically underwritten individual policies.
The new program will involve collaboration between Rocky Mountain Health Plans and Cover Colorado. I called RMHP and was told that people will still be applying directly through Cover Colorado and that the details will be worked out between Cover Colorado and RMHP after an application is received. I also called Cover Colorado and was told that the specifics of how the program will operate are still being worked out. So I’m not sure yet if the new program is basically going to amount to an expansion of Cover Colorado (using RMHP to help with administration and federal funds to help pay claims), or if there will actually be a separate program running alongside Cover Colorado.
For now, if you’ve been unable to qualify for individual health insurance, your best bet is still to apply through Cover Colorado, as that program is actively running and well-understood. As more information becomes available about the new plan, we’ll let you know.
