The state announced Friday Health Plans insurance shut down mid-July. Coverage expired on August 31st. Officials said there are 30,000 people who need to find another provider before then.
The state's insurance division said Friday Health Plans was too financially unstable to continue.
There are still about 9,000 people scrambling to find a new health insurance provider. The majority have been successful.
"Clearly way more than half have have taken action and they feel they needed to do to get that coverage and recognize that it's important," said the state's insurance division assistant commissioner Vincent Plymell.
Plymell said the state is offering clients a 'special enrollment period' so people can have health covered for the rest of the year. The period is open until October 31st.
"If these people didn't have a special enrollment period, they would go without insurance, there'd be no option for them. They would they'd be stuck after today," said Plymell.
People who sign up for a new plan after August 31st, their health insurance coverage won't start until the following month.
"For folks who enroll during the month of September, that coverage will start October 1st," said Plymell.
Plymell said almost 80 percent of Friday Health members worked with an insurance broker. He suggests people talk to their adviser or compare plans with Connect for Health Colorado.
"My husband has a chronic medical condition so he needs a continuation of care," said Staci Galloway Reed.
Reed said she was panicking over finding another provider before her coverage expired.
"Plus, I have two kids and if you've ever been around to little boys, like you know, the minute your health insurance lapses, they're gonna jump off the trampoline sideways and break their arm," said Reed.
On August 31st, Reed's insurance broker called with good news. A new insurance plan starts September 1st, but it's more expensive.
"It is a bummer, it impacts our budget too, all of our family lives back east, like, 'ok we're probably not going to go back east for Christmas,'" said Reed.
One Sedalia resident is in full panic mode. Carla Baca said she still needs another surgery before her coverage runs out.
"Trying to scramble with all of this stuff in a tight time frame is going to be difficult," said Baca.
Baca said she already met her deductible and doesn't want to start paying for another one.
"[My new deductible] may double, triple, who knows," said Baca.
Kaiser Permanente and Denver Health are honoring standing deductibles and out-of-pocket maximums, said Plymell.
For Reed and Baca, it's important to keep the same doctor.
"I don't want to go to [Kaiser Permanente], I have friends who have Kaiser and I know you have to use their doctors," said Baca.
"The earliest we could get an appointment [for my husband] was December [with Kaiser or Denver Health]," said Reed.
____
Watch KOAA News5 on your time, anytime with our free streaming app available for your Roku, FireTV, AppleTV and Android TV. Just search KOAA News5, download and start watching.
