Understanding Health Insurance

Open enrollment for individual insurance plans is coming up in November, and many employers also conduct open enrollment during the fall. Whichever type of plan you are enrolling in, it helps to know your options. The Colorado Department of Regulatory Agencies (DORA) has some helpful information on their website, including Key Health Insurance Definitions, newly updated for this plan year. On their site you can also review approved plans, understand Essential Health Benefits under the Affordable Care Act, learn about Medicare, research health costs, and find out whether short-term or long term plans are best for you. You can also find many helpful publications available from our library, including

• Colorado’s Health Insurance Market and Colorado Health Insurance Exchange, Issue Briefs from the Colorado Legislative Council describing Colorado’s health insurance laws
• Colorado Total Health Cost and Geographic Areas 2016 Study
• DORA’s annual report of health insurance costs