Frequently Asked Questions: Connect for Health Colorado Marketplace

Outside open enrollment, you can enroll in a private insurance plan through the Connect for Health Colorado Marketplace only if you have a Qualifying Life Event that gives you a special enrollment period.

You can apply for Health First Colorado (Colorado’s Medicaid Program) or the Child Health Plan Plus (CHP+) any time and you can enroll right away if determined eligible.

Get more information from ConnectforHealthCO.com or contact Connect for Health Colorado at 1-855-752-6749 / TDD 1-855-346-3432.

See: About the Marketplace

Get more information regarding privacy policies and laws.

As with any crime or attempted crime, you should contact your local police or law enforcement agency. If you believe you are a victim of identity theft or have lost money as a result of fraud, please contact law enforcement and click here to fill out a form from Connect for Health Colorado.

Veterans Affairs (VA) cannot determine if you can qualify for tax credits. You must apply through Connect for Health Colorado Marketplace to find out if you can get a tax credit to help lower the costs on your monthly premiums for private health insurance plans. Remember, if you are enrolled in a VA health care program, you do not need to take additional steps to meet the health coverage requirements under the health care law. Also, if you are enrolled in VA health care, your VA coverage meets the Federal requirement for health care coverage so you are not eligible for a tax credit to help buy insurance through the Connect for Health Colorado Marketplace.

For more information visit VA.gov.

Visit Connect for Health Colorado for more information about buying insurance through the marketplace.

Since Veterans Affairs health care programs meet the standard for health care coverage, you are not eligible for a tax credit to help buy insurance through the Connect for Health Colorado Marketplace. However, you may still purchase private health insurance on or off the Connect for Health Colorado Marketplace to complement your VA health care coverage without receiving a tax credit.

For more information visit VA.gov.

If you have more than five people in your household, you should make additional copies of the Household Relationship Table page, fill it in and submit it with the rest of your application. You should fill out the application with as much information as possible. The more information we know about you and the members of your household, the faster we can process your application for benefits. For more information on how to apply visit Get Coverage.

You should fill out the application with as much information as possible. The more information we know about you and the members of your household, the faster we can process your application for benefits. You do not need to complete the worksheets if they do not apply to you or the members of your household. If submitting a paper application, we recommend including all pages of the application and write Not Applicable or N/A on worksheets that do not apply to you. However, the application will not be delayed if the worksheets are not included. For more information on how to apply visit Get Coverage.

Only the person filling out the application (or their authorized representative) is required to sign the application to be considered complete.

Yes. If you are not enrolled in VA health care coverage, you may qualify for financial assistance (tax credit) to help pay for health insurance coverage purchased through the Connect for Health Colorado Marketplace. Remember, if you do have VA health care coverage, you are not eligible for a tax credit.

If you are a current Health First Colorado (Colorado’s Medicaid Program) or Child Health Plan Plus (CHP+) member and you need to tell us about a change in your income, log on to your PEAK Account at Colorado.gov/PEAK to report the change. This is the fastest and easiest way to tell us about the change in your income. You can get in-person help updating your income using your PEAK Account from a Certified Application Assistance Sites in your community. If you do not have a PEAK Account, you can create a PEAK Account at any time, even if you did not apply online.

If you are a current Health First Colorado or CHP+ member, you can also report a change in your income to your local County Human Services Office or a Medical Assistance Site in your community.

After you tell us what your new income is, we will need to see if you and your family still qualify for Health First Colorado or CHP+. If you do still qualify for Health First Colorado or CHP+, then you do not have to do anything. If you no longer qualify for Health First Colorado or CHP+, we’ll check to see if you and your family still qualify for a tax credit to help purchase private health insurance through Connect for Health Colorado.

You should contact your insurance carrier directly for information on your plan’s specific benefits and covered services. Your insurance carrier can also tell you when your premium payments are due.

Yes. If you no longer qualify for Health First Colorado (Colorado’s Medicaid Program), you can buy health insurance through Connect for Health Colorado, even if the open enrollment period is closed. Your change in Health First Colorado eligibility is considered a Qualifying Life Event. Get more information from Connect for Health Colorado or contact Connect for Health Colorado at 1-855-752-6749 / TDD 1-855-346-3432.

Veterans’ family members who already receive health care coverage — through their employers, TRICARE or certain VA programs — do not need to take additional steps to meet the health care law coverage standards.

Veterans’ family members who do not have coverage that meets the health care law’s requirements should consider their options. Family members of Veterans may qualify for free or low-cost coverage through Health First Colorado (Colorado’s Medicaid Program) or Child Health Plan Plus (CHP+). They may also qualify to financial assistance (tax credit) to help lower the costs of their monthly premiums or out-of-pocket costs through the Connect for Health Colorado Marketplace. Coloradans can apply for health care coverage through the Health First Colorado, CHP+ and Connect for Health Colorado Marketplace by filling out one application. Learn more about how to Get Coverage.

For more information visit VA.gov.

Federal law requires all applicants seeking financial assistance for purchasing insurance through the Connect for Health Colorado marketplace to be screened for Health First Colorado (Colorado’s Medicaid Program) and Child Health Plan Plus (CHP+) first. Health First Colorado and CHP+ are free or low cost public health insurance.  Once it is determined a person does not qualify for Health First Colorado or CHP+, they can apply for financial assistance to buy insurance through the marketplace.

A number of options may be available to you:

• If your monthly income is below about $1,250 a month, you may newly qualify for Health First Colorado (Colorado’s Medicaid Program) beginning in January 2014. To find out if you qualify for free or low cost health insurance through Health First Colorado click here.
• If you make more than about $1,250 a month, then you may qualify for financial assistance to help you buy health insurance through the Connect for Heath Colorado marketplace. To find out if you qualify click here.
• If your parents have health insurance that offers dependent coverage, you can join (or stay on) their health insurance policy as a dependent and remain covered until your 26th birthday. Get more information.
• Also, if you are a student, you may be able to enroll in student health offered through your college or university.

The shared Health First Colorado (Colorado’s Medicaid Program) and Connect for Health Colorado application must check for all Health First Colorado programs (including those programs for individuals with disabilities). You may be asked questions about your assets on the application. We will only ask you information about your assets if it appears you or someone else on the application may need additional Health First Colorado benefits for individuals who are aged, need Medicare premium assistance, or need long term services and supports. The asset question will not impact eligibility for those who are not seeking additional Health First Colorado benefits.

If you have questions about your individual or family’s circumstances please contact your local county human services office for help over the phone or in person.

See: Customer Support

An Authorization Number is used by Connect for Health Colorado to let an individual shop for private health insurance on the Connect for Health Colorado Marketplace with financial assistance (tax credits or cost sharing reductions).

You can apply for financial assistance to help you buy insurance through the Connect for Health Colorado. The 2020 open enrollment period will begin November 1, 2019 and ends January 15, 2020.

Outside of open enrollment, you can still shop for insurance but cannot apply for financial assistance to help lower the costs of your plan unless you have a Qualifying Life Event.

In general, health plans paid for before the 15th of the month will take effect on the first of the next month.  Health plans paid for after the 15th of the month will take effect on the first of the next following month, (i.e., a plan paid for on January 20, 2020 will become effective March 1, 2020). For more information about the Connect for Health Colorado open enrollment period visit ConnectforHealthCO.com.

You should fill out the application with as much information as possible. The more information we know about you and the members of your household, the faster we can process your application for benefits. You do not need to complete the worksheets if they do not apply to you or the members of your household. If submitting a paper application, we recommend including all pages of the application and write Not Applicable or N/A on worksheets that do not apply to you. However, the application will not be delayed if the worksheets are not included. For more information on how to apply visit Get Coverage.

Applicants will be issued an Authorization Number when they apply for health coverage if they have applied after November 9, 2014 and meet the requirements outlined above. If they apply online at Colorado.gov/PEAK or ConnectforHealthCO.com, they may be given an Authorization Number right away. Customers who find out right away if they qualify for a tax credit are encouraged to click on the “Shop” button right after finishing their financial application to ensure the smoothest shopping experience.

There are a couple of ways to find an applicant’s Authorization Number:

• If an applicant applied online at colorado.gov/PEAK or at ConnectforHealthCO.com, at the end of the application process they will see several numbers on the results screen.  These numbers must be written down for future reference.
  • Case ID number
  • Authorization Number
  • Application Tracking Number
  • The applicant must scroll to the bottom of the page under the Connect for Health Colorado logo, and click the “Shop” button before leaving the page to ensure their information is shared across both systems. The applicant can complete their enrollment at a later time but must click the “Shop” button before leaving the screen.
• The applicant’s Case ID number and Authorization Number will be listed on the Eligibility Notice of Action, the joint letter they get from the State and Connect for Health Colorado that tells them want they qualify for. They can view all letters from the State by logging into their PEAK Account, then going to their PEAK Mail Center. If the customer started at Connect for Health Colorado, they can use their Connect for Health Colorado user name and password to log into their PEAK Account to view the letters.
• A Connect for Health Colorado Customer Service Center Representative can look up a customer’s Case ID Number and Authorization Number when the customer’s determination is complete, if the customer started at the Connect for Health Colorado website, or if the customer was determined eligible for tax credits or cost sharing reductions by applying any other way.
• The applicant’s Authorized Representative can log into an applicant’s PEAK Account for them and look up the applicant’s Authorization Number on the applicant’s Eligibility Notice of Action in their PEAK Mail Center.