Five Takeaways From Colorado’s 2017 Health Access Survey

The health insurance picture in Colorado looks relatively the same as it did in past years, according to the 2017 Colorado Health Access Survey.

The survey, the fifth from the nonpartisan Colorado Health Institute, shows 93 percent of Coloradans now have health insurance. That’s about the same amount since 2015, but a big jump from 2013 before the Affordable Care Act.

Hispanic Coloradans still have highest uninsured rate at 10.4%. But headed in right direction. Dropped from 26.3% in 2011. #2017CHAS.

— CO Health Institute (@COHealthInst) September 19, 2017

Takeaways at a glance from the 2017 survey:

1. For the first time ever, more than five million Coloradans have health insurance.

2. Of the 350,000 who don’t have health insurance, most are between the ages of 19-29, under the poverty line and/or Hispanic.

3. The number one reason given for not having health insurance remains the high cost. Some also said the system is too confusing and they don’t know how to sign up for coverage.

4. In 2017, the median wait time for a doctor’s appointment is two days — a lower wait time than most of the country.

5. Urban Douglas County has the the highest insured rate at 98.6 percent. While rural counties in the northwest region of the state like Moffat and Rio Blanco have the lowest insured rate at 86.9 percent.

Read the full report: Colorado’s New Normal (via Colorado Health Institute)