Nope, you don’t have to. Whether you should comes down almost entirely to one thing, which is whether you’d qualify for help paying the premium.
Colorado runs its own marketplace, Connect for Health Colorado, instead of using HealthCare.gov. But you can also buy an individual plan straight from an insurance company, what the industry calls buying “off exchange.” A lot of the time it’s the very same plan at the very same sticker price.
The catch is the money. Premium tax credits, and the extra help that lowers deductibles for some incomes, only come through Connect for Health Colorado. Buy the identical plan directly from the carrier and you pay full price. No exceptions, no refund at tax time.
When going direct can make sense.
- Your household income is high enough that you wouldn’t get a subsidy anyway
- A carrier sells a plan design off exchange that fits you better
The calendar doesn’t care where you buy. On or off the marketplace, you can generally only sign up during open enrollment, which starts November 1 and runs into mid-January, unless a move, a lost job, a new baby, or another life change opens a special window. Our open enrollment checklist is a quick way to get ready.
Where a broker fits in. This part surprises people. A certified broker can enroll you through Connect for Health Colorado, subsidy and all, and it doesn’t cost you a cent more. The premium is the same whether you go it alone or call us. What changes is having our team check that your doctors are in network, your prescriptions are covered, and the cheaper-looking plan actually is cheaper once you use it.
We do this every fall for folks all over the Front Range, from Boulder and Longmont to Denver health plans in Capitol Hill and Wash Park, and we’re just as happy to answer a quick question as to run the whole comparison.