The Colorado Division of Insurance, the state regulator overseeing insurance markets, has approved final 2027 premium increases averaging 10% for individual health plans. Small-group insurance premiums will rise by an average of 14%, with substantial differences across Colorado’s regional rating areas.
Grand Junction faces the largest individual-market increase at 15.5%. The Eastern Plains, Arkansas Valley and San Luis Valley will see the lowest average increase at 5.9%, while Denver comes in at 10.8%.
Boulder individual-market premiums will rise by an average of 12%, compared with 9.7% in Colorado Springs. Fort Collins will see a 9.5% increase, Greeley 10%, Pueblo 10.4% and Western Colorado outside Grand Junction 11.8%.
Small-group increases follow a different regional pattern. Boulder reaches 15.2%, Colorado Springs 14.9% and Denver 14.6%, while Fort Collins comes in at 10.8%. Grand Junction’s small-group increase is 12.7%, below its individual-market change.
Colorado regulators said the state’s 10% individual-market increase remains below the national median. KFF’s analysis of 2027 ACA filings puts the median requested increase across states at about 15%, with medical costs and the expiration of enhanced federal premium tax credits among the factors cited by insurers.
The enhanced credits expired at the end of 2025 after Congress declined to extend them.
Colorado’s Division of Insurance said their expiration doubled net premium costs on average for hundreds of thousands of state residents buying individual coverage for 2026.
Congress created the expanded subsidies through the American Rescue Plan Act in 2021. The Inflation Reduction Act extended them through 2025, after which the temporary provisions expired.
The expanded credits reduced the share of household income required for ACA premiums and removed the previous 400% federal poverty level eligibility ceiling. Their expiration increased what many enrollees paid directly, even where insurers’ underlying gross premiums rose by a smaller percentage.
Colorado Insurance Commissioner Michael Conway said the state has tried to limit additional premium pressure through its own programs. He also called on Congress to restore federal subsidies used by millions of ACA marketplace customers.
Supporters of an extension argue that larger tax credits reduce uninsured rates and protect households from sharp premium increases, while opponents point to federal spending and question continued subsidies for higher-income households.
The subsidy dispute also featured in the 2025 federal budget standoff, which ended after a 43-day government shutdown. The agreement reopening the government didn’t guarantee renewal of the enhanced ACA credits, leaving the provisions expired for the 2026 plan year.
Colorado has responded with state-funded premium assistance. Under measures approved by state lawmakers, financially assisted customers are expected to see average net premiums rise by about $20 per month between 2026 and 2027, according to state estimates. Without the state support, the increase would average about $69 monthly.
The state’s reinsurance program provides another buffer against higher premiums. Created in 2020, the program reimburses insurers for part of their highest-cost claims and uses different reimbursement levels across geographic areas.
Colorado directs more reinsurance support toward rural and mountain regions where medical costs and premiums tend to run higher.
The structure spreads part of the cost of expensive claims across the broader insurance market rather than leaving each regional pool to absorb the full amount.
The Division of Insurance estimates individual-market premium increases in Grand Junction and Western Colorado would have reached as much as 31% without reinsurance. The approved increases are 15.5% for Grand Junction and 11.8% for the rest of Western Colorado.
Insurer participation remains another pressure point. Colorado has lost six carriers across the individual and small-group markets during the past two years, reducing competition in parts of the state.
Cigna Healthcare is the latest carrier to exit. The insurer plans to leave the individual medical market nationwide at the end of 2026, including Colorado, where it covers 40,853 individual-market members.
Current Cigna customers remain covered through December 31, 2026. They will need another insurer for 2027, with Connect for Health Colorado advising affected customers to compare replacement plans during open enrollment.
Colorado Access will enter the individual market for 2027 through affiliated company Access Connected Care Partners. Its Colorado Access Choice plans are expected across 14 counties in rating areas 1, 2, 3 and 7.
The entry gives Colorado seven individual-market carriers for 2027, according to the Division of Insurance. Colorado Access joins Denver Health as another Colorado-based participant in the individual market.
Federal ACA enforcement announced in September doesn’t apply directly to Colorado’s state exchange. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services said it was canceling about 315,000 unauthorized federal marketplace enrollments covering more than 760,000 people as part of an anti-fraud initiative.
Colorado operates Connect for Health Colorado rather than relying on the federally facilitated marketplace. State officials said the federal removal action therefore doesn’t cover customers enrolled through Colorado’s exchange.
The 2027 pricing picture still leaves significant regional differences for households buying their own coverage. Individual-market increases range from 5.9% to 15.5%, while small-group changes also differ substantially by rating area.
Open enrollment for 2027 coverage begins November 1. Colorado officials are advising consumers to compare premiums, provider networks and benefits rather than assuming an existing plan remains the lowest-cost option after the new rates take effect.
