Colorado faces double-digit hikes in insurance premiums

The Colorado Division of Insurance on Monday released final premium increases for those who obtain insurance through the individual or small group markets.

Premiums will increase by an average of 10% in the individual market. For the small-business market, rates will go up by an average of 14%, according to the division.

Grand Junction will see the highest increases for the individual market at 15.5%.

"Despite health insurance premium increases this year, Colorado is faring better than other states. Premium increases are lower in Colorado than the median across all states," the division said in a statement Monday.

The division attributed the rate increases to Congress' failure to extend the enhanced federal premium tax credits last year, which had lowered costs for Americans since 2021.

That resulted in a doubling of premium costs in 2026 for Coloradans who buy health insurance in the individual market and "continues to cause instability," the division said.

In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, Congress adopted the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021, which, among other provisions, temporarily expanded eligibility for the premium tax credits for tax years 2021 and 2022.

Notably, the law eliminated the income limit of 400% of the federal poverty level, thereby allowing more Americans to qualify and provided larger subsidies compared to the original Affordable Care Act. The Biden administration and Congress then extended these enhanced tax credits in the 2022 Budget Reconciliation Law for another three years and established the sunset date of Jan. 1, 2026.

Supporters of extending the enhanced subsidies have argued that letting them expire would mean millions of Americans would lose health coverage, while critics said they were meant to be temporary and that continuing them would subsidize higher income earners at a significant cost to taxpayers.

Last year, Democrats in the U.S. Senate blocked a continuing resolution to fund the government because the Republican appropriations bill did not include the enhanced "Obamacare" subsidies extension. This triggered the longest shutdown in American history, lasting 43 days.

A bipartisan deal to end the shutdown was reached — but with no guarantee that Congress would renew the expiring tax credits.

Colorado Insurance Commissioner Michael Conway said, "Despite the loss of the enhanced premium tax credits, we are doing everything we can to keep health insurance prices down so Coloradans can afford access to healthcare… But make no mistake: Congress still needs to restore the subsidies that millions of Americans relied on to afford their health insurance."

Colorado has lost a half-dozen insurers in the individual and small-group market over the past two years. Cigna was the latest, announcing in April it would pull out of the individual market in Colorado, effective Jan. 1, 2027.

The move by Cigna Healthcare is part of the company's overall plan to withdraw entirely from the Affordable Care Act market. In Colorado, Cigna provided individual health insurance to 40,853 members.

Cigna joins five other insurers that have pulled out of Colorado since 2022. That doesn't include two insurers that announced they were withdrawing from the individual market last year but rescinded that announcement two months later.

One new insurer joined the Colorado market for the 2027 plan year: Colorado Access, which will provide plans in 14 counties in rating areas 1, 2, 3 and 7.

The division also noted that federal changes announced on Monday regarding removing individuals from Affordable Care Act health insurance marketplaces don't apply to Colorado, which has its own state-based exchange.

The Trump administration announced Monday it is canceling health insurance for 760,000 Americans due to what it claimed was fraud.

The following table shows the average approved rate increase by rating area for the individual and small group markets.

Market Rating Area Average Premium Increase

Individual 1 Boulder 12%

2 Colorado Springs 9.7%

3 Denver 10.8%

4 Fort Collins 9.5%

5 Grand Junction 15.5%

6 Greeley 10.0%

7 Pueblo 10.4%

8 Eastern Plains, Arkansas Valley and San Luis Valley 5.9%

9 Western Colorado except for Grand Junction 11.8%

Small Group 1 Boulder 15.2%

2 Colorado Springs 14.9%

3 Denver 14.6%

4 Fort Collins 10.8%

5 Grand Junction 12.7%

6 Greeley 11.4%

7 Pueblo 15.0%

8 Eastern Plains, Arkansas Valley and San Luis Valley 9.9%

9 Western Colorado except for Grand Junction 14.6%

The insurance division also pointed out that without the state's reinsurance program, a type of insurance that covers the highest healthcare costs for insurers, premium increases would have been as high as 31% for Grand Junction and Western Colorado.

The reinsurance program, which started in 2020, has a three-tier reimbursement structure designed to provide more assistance to the rural and mountain areas that have higher healthcare costs and higher health insurance premiums than other areas, the division said, adding this spreads risk across the Colorado health insurance market, reducing the impact of high-cost claims.

Distributed by Newsbank, inc.