Colorado’s uninsured rate half what it was before health law

A new survey shows that Colorado’s uninsured rate has dropped by more than half since before the new federal health care law.

According to the Colorado Health Access Survey, the state’s uninsured rate fell from 14.3 percent in 2013 to 6.7 percent in 2015.

The survey was released Tuesday by the Colorado Health Institute and The Colorado Trust, groups that agree with the law’s broad goal to reduce the uninsured rate.

Much of Colorado’s increase came from people joining Medicare and Medicaid.

In 2009, about 9 percent of Coloradans were covered by Medicaid. By 2015, five years after Colorado expanded Medicaid coverage to more people with low incomes, the rate swelled to 19.9 percent.

Colorado saw a smaller increase in consumers buying insurance on the individual market, from 7.3 percent in 2009 to 7.7 percent in 2015.