Colorado Closer To Ordering New Health Exchange Review
DENVER (AP) - Colorado lawmakers changed course Wednesday and moved toward giving the state's health insurance exchange its deepest review yet.
A Senate committee's two Democrats joined its three Republicans to support an expanded audit for Connect For Health Colorado, the state-run marketplace for selling health insurance under the federal health care law.
The audit was a priority for Republicans last year but failed in the Democratic-controlled Senate. Democrats said that the exchange had already been audited and that an extra audit would be needless.
But the GOP now controls the Senate, and Democrats have dropped their opposition.
"We are trying to help the exchange do things in the right manner," said Sen. Jerry Sonnenberg, R-Sterling and sponsor of the bill.
"Our job is to make sure this works really, really well, because this needs to be a success," said Sen. Cheri Jahn, D-Wheat Ridge, who joined as co-sponsor with Sonnenberg.
RELATED STORIES: Connect For Health Colorado Story Archive
Created by lawmakers in 2011, the state-run exchange is entering its second year of selling insurance plans to comply with the federal law.
The exchange has been audited already by a state-run committee. But because Connect For Health is considered "quasi-governmental," not a state agency, auditors need additional legislative authorization to explore areas such as the effectiveness of the exchange's website or whether its future fiscal projections are done properly.
The limited audit released in December raised questions about some areas auditors were permitted to explore. The audit faulted the exchange for improperly awarding some contracts and for not containing some administrative costs.
Exchange officials, who opposed an expanded audit last year, also changed course Wednesday.
"We do want to be transparent and improve our operations at every opportunity," said Gary Drews, the exchange's interim CEO.
The bill now awaits debate by the full Senate.
LINKS: Senate Bill 52 | Connect For Health Colorado
- By Kristen Wyatt, AP Writer
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