“I appreciate how business groups, consumer advocates, insurers and health care providers came together to support this uniquely Colorado solution to help individuals and small businesses purchase health coverage.”Today, Governor John Hickenlooper signed into law the Colorado Health Benefit Exchange Act (Senate Bill 200). This bill, sponsored by Senate President Pro Tem Betty Boyd (D-Lakewood), establishes the Colorado Health Exchange, a single marketplace to help facilitate the purchase of health insurance for individuals and small businesses in Colorado. The signing ceremony took place at the new St. Anthony’s Hospital campus in Lakewood. The Governor and Senator Boyd were joined by representatives of the coalition, including business groups and consumer advocates, that supported the passage of Senate Bill 200.
Senator Boyd offered the following comment on the signing of Senate Bill 200 today:
“It has been an honor and a privilege to carry this legislation, and I am enormously proud to see the Health Exchange Act signed into law. I have never seen such a broad-based coalition of support for a piece of health care legislation. I appreciate how business groups, consumer advocates, insurers and health care providers came together to support this uniquely Colorado solution to help individuals and small businesses purchase health coverage. Also, I want to thank Governor Hickenlooper for his leadership on this issue.”
This Exchange will help make the state more efficient, the insurance industry more competitive, and the people of Colorado healthier, happier and more productive. At least 350,000 Coloradans in the individual and small employer insurance markets will be eligible to purchase insurance through the Exchange program.
The Colorado Health Exchange will function as an independent public entity that is accountable to the people of Colorado; it will not be a part of the state government. The Exchange will be governed by a nine-member board which will hire an executive director, seek grant funding, and direct the creation and operation of the Colorado Health Exchange. The Exchange will also receive oversight by a newly created legislative committee that will review and approve grant applications and oversee the initial work to establish Exchange.
