This story was produced as part of the Colorado Capitol News Alliance. It first appeared at cpr.org.
If you buy health insurance on the individual market, through the state's Affordable Care Act marketplace, your rates are expected to go up by an average of 11% in 2027.
That’s according to the Colorado Division of Insurance, which said, in a press release, that’s less than the national average.
The change applies to Coloradans who do not get coverage through an employer, and also to small and large group markets for employers that purchase coverage for employees through Connect for Health Colorado.
The division still has to approve the hikes following a review process.
Nationally, enrollment in the ACA marketplace is down by 3 million people, about 13% after the tax credits expired at the start of the year, according to independent healthy policy group KFF.
“Americans are sick and tired of getting ripped off on healthcare. We need major reform at the national level including paying the same amount for prescription drugs as Europe and Canada do,” said Governor Jared Polis, a Democrat, in the release.
Insurance commissioner Michael Conway blamed the Republican majority in Congress for failing to extend tax credits that help Americans pay for insurance for the price hikes.
“Unfortunately, we continually warned that Congress’ failure to extend the enhanced premium tax credits would lead to instability in the market, and that’s a significant part of why we are continuing to see rate increases,” Conway said.
The state took on some of the cost to keep prices lower than the national average.
In a special session last summer Democratic lawmakers passed and Polis signed legislation to pay for a $100 million health insurance affordability cash fund to prevent the federal cuts from causing even greater increases in health care costs. That helped Colorado’s decline in marketplace enrollment to fall only 5%, by keeping more people enrolled, according to the division.
A Colorado consumer group, the Colorado Consumer Health Initiative, for passing H.R. 1, the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, which made deep health cuts and did not extend tax credits.
“Rates are skyrocketing yet again,” said PriyaTelang, communications manager of the Colorado Consumer Health Initiative. “The Trump-led Republican Congress has slashed healthcare help for families and small businesses that need it so they can fund tax breaks for the ultra-wealthy and big corporations. This just adds to the affordability crisis Coloradans are facing” which she said will only get worse when the Medicaid cuts from H.R. 1 start in full in January.
CPR reached out for comment Monday afternoon to the Colorado Association of Health Plans, the trade association of the health insurance industry, but the group has not yet responded.
Republicans said they voted for the legislation because it permanently extended tax cuts, provided a check on federal spending and secured the southern border.
“Republicans are under no obligation to extend a Biden-era policy in the One Big Beautiful Bill,” 8th District Rep. Gabe Evans told CPR when the bill passed last year. “Instead of making this political, Democrats should adjust their focus to fixing their red tape and overregulation of private insurance in Colorado, which has driven multiple private insurers out of the state.”
