Colo. health exchange CEO drops raise request

The head of Colorado’s state health care exchange is backing off her request for a year-end raise and bonus.

Patty Fontneau said Friday that the attention on her pay has been a distraction at a time when the exchange is focused on getting people signed up for health insurance. She is currently paid more than $190,000 a year, a salary that is supported by Colorado taxpayers.

Enrollment figures through the exchange so far are short of expectations. Officials’ high-end projection for how many people would enroll in an insurance plan through December was more than 61,000. But earlier this week, officials said just under 10,000 people had bought private health insurance plan.