The decision to return and offer services came after the Colorado General Assembly passed legislation to provide $100 million to stabilize the individual healthcare market; loss of enhanced premium tax credits still threatens market stability
DENVER - The Colorado Division of Insurance (DOI), part of the Department of Regulatory Agencies (DORA), today announced that Rocky Mountain HMO and Anthem’s HMO Colorado have withdrawn the discontinuances of health care plans they filed in August. Thanks to the leadership and actions of Governor Polis and the legislature, both companies will continue services in all counties they covered in the 2025 plan year. The discontinuances of plans between the two carriers would have affected 96,000 Coloradans.
“I’m glad that Governor Polis’s leadership helped ensure that both Rocky Mountain HMO and Anthem have decided to pull back the discontinuances they initially filed and I appreciate their partnership during this difficult year, along with the other carriers in the market,” said Colorado Insurance Commissioner Michael Conway. “This would not have been possible without the Colorado General Assembly passing legislation to stabilize the individual health care market by blunting some of the premium increases. But, as I keep saying, the expiration of the enhanced premium tax credit is the biggest threat to market stability. If Congress doesn’t extend them, at the beginning of next year, most Coloradans enrolled in the individual market will see their premiums skyrocket and tens of thousands of Coloradans will lose coverage. If Congress doesn’t act, the pain will be unspeakable.”
The withdrawals of discontinuances come after the Colorado General Assembly passed HB 25B-1006, legislation that provides $100 million to help reduce rising premium costs in the individual health insurance market. HB25B-1006 was sponsored by Representatives Kyle Brown and Lindsay Gilchrist, and Senators Kyle Mullica and Iman Jodeh. Though this legislation will help consumers with rising costs, it cannot absorb the expected cost spikes consumers will face if federal enhanced premium tax credits are not renewed by Congress.
Nearly 225,000 Coloradans depend on the enhanced premium tax credits (ePTCs) to afford health coverage in the individual market. EPTCs are currently scheduled to expire December 31 this year, however Congress would need to act before the end of September for carriers to adjust rates prior to the November 1 Open Enrollment period. Without their renewal, a family of four with an annual income of $128,600 can expect to see premiums increase from $13,000 to as much as $25,000 next year for a mid level plan.
Last week, a bipartisan effort was introduced in the House of Representatives to temporarily extend ePTCs.
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