Private Health Insurance in Colorado
Private health insurance in Colorado is coverage you buy directly, outside the ACA Marketplace, priced on your age, zip code and health instead of your income. With Colorado Marketplace premiums rising 10% to 12.8% on average for 2027, more people who earn too much for a tax credit are pricing a private plan first. It is not the right fit for everyone, and the sections below explain how it works in Colorado and when the Marketplace is the better call.
Who buys their own coverage in Colorado
Connect for Health Colorado, the state's own exchange, took 277,238 plan selections in the 2026 open enrollment, the CMS state-level file shows, only about 2 percent below the 282,481 of 2025. New customers dropped about 24 percent, though, as the enhanced credits lapsed. About 69 percent of 2026 enrollees got an advance premium tax credit, down from about 80 percent, so roughly 31 percent pay full price, one of the 10 highest unsubsidized shares in the country. Census survey data for 2024 put about 49 percent of Colorado households at $100,000 or more in income.
How Colorado regulates private plans
Under Division Bulletin B-4.143 and Regulation 4-2-40, fixed indemnity marketing, application and enrollment materials must show a Colorado notice in at least 14-point type, ahead of the federal one, saying the policy is not health coverage, and insurers may not call such a policy ACA compliant or give it an ACA-like name. Sharing ministries get no exemption; C.R.S. 10-16-107.4 makes them report data yearly. In 2024, 57,358 Coloradans belonged, and the groups paid about 64 percent of costs they judged eligible. No statute carves out agricultural organization plans, and C.R.S. 10-3-903.5 keeps association health plans under Division oversight.
Protecting yourself when you buy in Colorado
Colorado statutes set no general free-look period for individual health policies; they require one only for life insurance and long-term care, and the state's replacement notice mentions a free-look period only if the policy offers one, so check before you pay. Verify an agent, agency or insurer with the Division of Insurance's Verify License tool, run through Sircon. Consumer Services answers questions at 303-894-7490 or 800-930-3745, and complaints go through its online Consumer Portal. In December 2025 the Division warned that limited plans are often pushed through unsolicited calls and texts from brokers not tied to the exchange.
The Colorado Marketplace you would be comparing against
Colorado buyers use Connect for Health Colorado, the state's own exchange, which sets its own calendar and runs state programs on top of federal credits. Final 2027 individual rates rise about 10 percent on average, held down by a state reinsurance program that lowers premiums by roughly 17 percent statewide and by the Colorado Option, which requires a standardized plan in every county. Colorado also funds premium help for many households that would otherwise face a steeper 2027 increase. State continuation lasts 18 months, longer than in most states, and short-term plans are limited to six nonrenewable months. Mountain counties have historically had higher premiums than the Front Range, so where you live in Colorado matters a great deal.
Other Colorado rules to know
- Leaving a small employer: Colorado requires insured group plans to offer 18 months of continuation after at least six months of coverage, with the employer giving written notice within 10 days and the employee electing within 30 days.
- Short-term plans: Colorado law limits short-term plans to six months, nonrenewable, and few if any insurers sell them in the state.
- Where to enroll: Colorado uses its own exchange, Connect for Health Colorado. Connect for Health Colorado sets its own open enrollment dates; check its site for 2027 deadlines. Private, medically underwritten plans can start the first of any month if approved.
- 2027 rates: individual plans 10% to 12.8% on average, small-group plans about 14%. See the Colorado 2027 rate page.
Why people leave the Marketplace for a private plan
Marketplace premiums are rising again for 2027, and above 400 percent of the poverty level ($63,840 for one person, $132,000 for a family of four) there is no tax credit at all. Underestimate your income and you repay the credit in April. Many Marketplace plans are local HMOs or EPOs, out-of-pocket maximums reach $12,000 per person in 2027, and you can only enroll once a year without a qualifying event.
What a private plan does differently
A private, medically underwritten plan is priced on health, not income, so a strong year never raises the premium and there is nothing to pay back at tax time. If approved, it can start the first of any month, and many plans use national PPO networks that work when you travel.
The honest trade-offs
You apply and answer health questions, and approval is not guaranteed. Underwritten plans can decline an application or exclude a pre-existing condition, and benefits and limits differ from plan to plan. Private plans are not ACA Marketplace plans. If you have a significant health condition, the Marketplace is the guaranteed option, and I will tell you so.
For 2027 the Marketplace credit stops at 400 percent of the poverty level: $63,840 for one person, $86,560 for two and $132,000 for a family of four. The out-of-pocket maximum for 2027 Marketplace plans is $12,000 for one person and $24,000 for a family. The full guide covers the rest.
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Colorado questions
Where do Colorado residents enroll in 2027 coverage?
Colorado uses its own exchange, Connect for Health Colorado. Connect for Health Colorado sets its own open enrollment dates; check its site for 2027 deadlines.
What continuation rights does Colorado give after leaving a small employer?
Colorado requires insured group plans to offer 18 months of continuation after at least six months of coverage, with the employer giving written notice within 10 days and the employee electing within 30 days.
How much are Colorado premiums rising for 2027?
Individual-market premiums are set to rise 10% to 12.8% on average, and small-group plans about 14%.
What is private health insurance?
Coverage you buy directly from an insurer outside the ACA Marketplace. Medically underwritten private plans are priced on age, zip code and health rather than income, and they can start the first of any month if you are approved.
Is private health insurance cheaper than the Marketplace?
Often for healthy people above the subsidy line, who pay full price on the Marketplace. Below the line, a Marketplace plan with a tax credit may be cheaper. The only way to know is to price both.
Can a private plan turn me down?
Yes. Underwritten plans can decline an application or exclude a pre-existing condition. The Marketplace has to accept everyone during open enrollment or a special enrollment period.
Sources: www.cms.gov, content.leg.colorado.gov, doi.colorado.gov, doi.colorado.gov, doi.colorado.gov. Facts checked October 2026. See all Colorado health insurance rules.
Private plans in other states
Written by Frank Caballero, licensed health insurance agent in Colorado and 30 other states, NPN 21032307.