Statistics show 22 Western Slope counties, including Routt and Moffat counties, have the highest health care costs and, if unassisted, would have the highest health insurance costs for individual plans in the state.

Those 22 counties on the western edge of the state — defined by the line down the state from north to south from Jackson County through Grand, Summit, Lake, Gunnison, Hinsdale and Archuleta counties (see graphic) — have the highest health care costs in Colorado, according to the Colorado Division of Insurance.

“It’s important to understand that high health insurance premiums are indicative of high costs for health care, what is paid to the doctors and hospitals,” said Vincent Plymell, assistant commissioner for communications and outreach at the Colorado Division of Insurance.

---

---

Those counties would continue to have the highest insurance premiums statewide for individual plans if not for help from the Colorado’s Reinsurance Program, which was enacted in 2020, Plymell said.

The Colorado Reinsurance Program led to a smaller increase in premiums in Routt and Moffat counties this year compared to statewide. Average individual premiums increased 2.5% in Routt this year, compared to 5.6% statewide, and actually decreased by 1.4% in Moffat. -Colorado Division of Insurance

The reinsurance program functions as an equalizing factor to dampen health insurance cost discrepancies across Colorado. In October, state officials estimated the reinsurance program will save Colorado residents $493 million in 2025.

---

---

Every health insurance customer in Colorado who signs up for individual health insurance is helped by the reinsurance program through automatic premium reductions, Plymell explained.

“Reinsurance works by paying a portion of high-cost claims, allowing insurance companies to lower the premiums for individual-market health insurance plans,” Plymell said.

Plymell said the Colorado program is unique compared to other states’ policies because Colorado has a tiered approach that provides more money to areas with higher health care costs. For example, reinsurance covers 74% of costs in Routt and Moffat counties while insurance companies cover 26%.

Looking at itemized health care bills, patients can easily see the high gross costs of medical services in the Yampa Valley. Experts point to various health care cost factors in more rural counties such as the lack of health care vendor competition and fewer opportunities for shared cost efficiencies. That is coupled with the high cost of living and thus higher reimbursements requested by providers serving in more expensive mountain communities. Other higher costs can include bringing in visiting specialty providers.

Plymell said the general health level of the population in a county plays a large role in health care costs. One rural county may have a less health-conscious population with more risks, yet a highly active and healthy population in another county may rack up more costly recreational injuries, he said.

What might surprise Yampa Valley consumers is that reinsurance assistance led to a smaller increase in premiums in Routt and Moffat counties this year compared to statewide. Average individual premiums increased 2.5% in Routt County this year, compared to a 5.6% statewide increase. In Moffat County, the average actually decreased by 1.4%, according to the Division of Insurance.

Plymell outlined the insurance premium savings provided by the reinsurance program for the high-cost Western counties in 2025. A 40-year-old person could save $3,172, and family of four could save $11,709.

Experts say health insurance companies can shy away from serving regions with higher health care costs, so Western Slope consumers often have one-half or one-third of the insurance service choices compared to urban areas of Colorado, according to Division of Insurance county-level information.

However, the reinsurance program does not apply to small business or group health insurance costs. Division of Insurance information shows health insurance premiums for the small group market with less than 100 employees increased 7.1% statewide for 2025, and that average premium increase was higher at 9.6% in Moffat County and 10.2% in Routt.

Health Coverage Program Manager Kimberly Fox at the nonprofit Health Partnership Serving Northwest Colorado said some small business owners and their employees might both save if the company offers a stipend for their employees who then buy health insurance with lower premiums through the state’s health exchange marketplace Connect for Health. That marketplace allows customers to apply for financial assistance to pay for private insurance.

Insurance experts encourage families to take the time to put a pencil to the pricing differences for insurance options. For example, if an employee is covered by an employer health insurance plan, the employee’s spouse or dependents could utilize the Connect for Health Colorado option and potentially save the family money overall.

Steamboat Springs Chamber CEO Sarah Leonard said many small business owners would like to provide health insurance as a benefit for their full-time employees but are stymied by price.

“It’s hard to budget to provide health insurance, but I think, in general, our businesses really want to do that for our employees,” Leonard said. She said the chamber is part of a current 2025 Employee Satisfaction and Priorities Survey where she believes employer-provided health insurance will rate as a high employee priority.

Despite assistance programs, Routt County Public Health Medical Director Dr. Brian Harrington believes the cost of health care insurance remains “a big problem.”

“People pay large premiums and then have to tack on further costs because they have high-deductible plans,” Harrington said. “Drug costs remain a large component in addition to lab costs, imaging costs and surgery costs.”

Plymell said a significant challenge for health insurance consumers “is navigating all the options, choices, complexities and terminology” when their tendency is to “look at as little as possible.”

If employees have access to their employer’s group insurance, generally that is an easier default choice with less mental hassle, Plymell said. However, only 44.5% of residents in Routt, Moffat, Jackson and Rio Blanco counties in 2023 had employer-sponsored insurance, which is lower than 49.4% statewide, according to the nonprofit Colorado Health Institute.

For consumers who believe they are saving money by not buying health insurance at all, Plymell disagrees: “If you step off the curb wrong, it doesn’t take much to have an emergency. It can be so costly in the long run.”

This story is the second in two-part coverage about the overall picture of health insurance issues across the Yampa Valley. The first part of the coverage appeared Feb. 4 and is available to read online at: Steamboatpilot.com/news/northwest-colorado-communities-see-shifts-in-medicaid-connect-for-health-enrollment/