Polis: Colorado health reinsurance will slash premiums

Colorado’s governor says he anticipates that individuals’ health insurance premiums on the Affordable Care Act market will be substantially lower next year.

Gov. Jared Polis released projections Tuesday showing that average individual premiums in 2020 will be reduced by more than 18 percent, thanks to a pending state reinsurance program.

Polis says some individuals on the market could see rates drop by 41 percent

If approved by federal officials, the reinsurance program could help about 250,000 Coloradans who buy coverage on the market created under former President Barack Obama’s health care law.

Reinsurance allows private insurers to lower premiums by having the state take on their highest-cost cases.

Polis signed bipartisan legislation in May to create the program.