Committee will place the state’s insurance exchange under greater scrutiny
Colorado’s health insurance exchange, called Connect for Health Colorado, may receive more oversight from its regulatory committee. The state Senate has passed legislation that will change the oversight committee’s name and will expand its ability to review the state’s insurance exchange during the legislative sessions. The committee’s new name will be the Colorado Health Insurance Exchange Oversight Committee, and the group will be able to meet as many times as it wants during the legislative session.
There is a need to improve the Colorado health insurance exchange
Committee chair Senator Ellen Roberts has promised to place the state’s insurance exchange under greater scrutiny. The committee itself will also be held to higher standards. During one of the committee’s recent meetings, the group heard testimony from insurance brokers, agents, and consumers regarding the benefits and drawbacks of the state’s insurance exchange. Finding out the exchange’s problems and how these problems can be remedied is one of the priorities of the Colorado Health Insurance Exchange Oversight Committee.
Enrollment process must be improved
More than 140,000 Colorado residents have found insurance coverage through the state’s exchange, but some have questioned whether or not the exchange is serving the public adequately. The exchange’s enrollment process, in particular, has proven somewhat problematic for consumers. Many people have had difficulty enrolling in the exchange in its earlier days, which made it nearly impossible for them to find the health insurance coverage that they needed. The enrollment process had improved, but it is still not at a point that state officials would be happy with.
Insurers are not receiving information as quickly as they should
Insurers participating in the state’s exchange are also having trouble with the system. Many of these companies have reported that they are not receiving information in a timely fashion. This information includes data from consumers that want to purchase their policies through the exchange. A delay in receiving this information is making it more difficult for insurers to serve potential customers that are using the state’s exchange.