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House panel advances bill to shore up reinsurance and OmniSalud funding amid federal uncertainty
Summary
Sponsors told the House Health & Human Services Committee that House Bill 12-97 would let Colorado raise an insurer assessment and accept donations to sustain the Health Insurance Affordability Enterprise (HIAE) if federal enhanced subsidies lapse. Proponents cited coverage protections; business groups warned of higher costs for employers and employees. The committee adopted amendments and moved the bill to Finance.
Representative Meg Brown introduced House Bill 12-97 to strengthen Colorado's Health Insurance Affordability Enterprise (HIAE), saying the measure is designed to "increase funding and long term stability for both the reinsurance program as well as the health insurance affordability enterprise as a whole." The sponsors said the changes would let the state raise the insurer assessment by up to 1 percentage point (capped), allow HIAE to accept gifts and grants, and expand allowable uses to sustain programs such as the state reinsurance program and the OmniSalud plan for low-income residents who do not qualify for federal subsidies.
Why it matters: Sponsors and supporters warned that enhanced federal subsidies introduced in 2021 are uncertain after 2025 and that a lapse could leave more than 60,000 Coloradans uninsured and create a funding shortfall for state affordability programs. Representative Brown told the…
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