DENVER — In case you missed it, Axios Denver reports that following the “controversial 2021 law creating a public option,” the cost of health insurance purchased on the individual marketplace in Colorado will increase 10% in 2024, an increase “on par” with 2023.

The news is yet another reminder that the Colorado Option law, which promised to lower health care costs specifically for those on the individual market, is having the opposite effect.

As Axios notes, “The rates are being closely monitored after Colorado mandated 10% cuts for premiums as part of a controversial 2021 law creating a public option, and this year’s numbers started a debate about whether it’s working as intended.”

“Moreover, critics of the state’s public option law note that four health insurers are no longer offering individual or small market plans amid the tougher rules,” the Axios report concludes. “Colorado’s Health Care Future, which opposes the law, called it a broken promise that is only leading to higher prices and less competition.”

Read the story in the Axios Denver or below:

Colorado Health Insurance Prices To Increase Next Year

Axios Denver

John Frank

November 1, 2023

The cost of health insurance purchased on the individual marketplace will increase 10% in 2024, on par with the prior year.

Why it matters: The rates are being closely monitored after Colorado mandated 10% cuts for premiums as part of a controversial 2021 law creating a public option, and this year’s numbers started a debate about whether it’s working as intended.

State of play: This is the first year the state’s insurance commissioner had the authority to challenge insurance rates at a hearing, but none was held. Instead, the agency pressed insurers behind the scenes to push down rates and called the outcome a success.

So far only one-third of the individual plans and 80% of Colorado Option plans on the small employers market are hitting the state’s targets, the Colorado Sun reports.

What they’re saying: “The division continues to hammer away at health care costs, working to limit rising costs and save people money on health care,” Insurance Commissioner Michael Conway said in a statement.

By the numbers: The increases for individual plans range from 6.5% for Rocky Mountain HMO to 19.6% for Denver Health Medical Plan, the Denver Business Journal reports.

The rate changes on the small-group market range from a 2.3% cut by Kaiser Permanente to a 12.3% increase from Anthem.

The other side: Only 7% of the state purchases insurance on the individual market, so the impact is minimal. About half get insurance through work and the state’s forced price reductions don’t apply.

Moreover, critics of the state’s public option law note that four health insurers are no longer offering individual or small market plans amid the tougher rules.

Colorado’s Health Care Future, which opposes the law, called it a broken promise that is only leading to higher prices and less competition.