Access to Care Improving in Colorado: New Colorado Access to Care Index

The ability of Coloradans to access health care has improved over the past two years, according to findings from the new Colorado Access to Care Index released today.

Colorado’s index score increased to 7.9 in 2015 from 7.7 in 2013, both out of a possible 10 points. Scores for the state’s 21 health statics regions, as well as scores by income and ethnicity, are available on the Colorado Health Institute website.

The index is a joint project of the Colorado Health Institute and the Colorado Coalition for the Medically Underserved. It was launched in order to measure whether the historic drop in uninsured Coloradans is translating into a change in their ability to access health care.

The index is based on 30 factors divided into three categories:

• Potential Access: Whether Coloradans have adequate insurance coverage and enough local health care providers, factors that make it more likely people will get care.
• Barriers to Care: The obstacles that make it difficult for Coloradans to get health care, even if they have insurance.
• Realized Access: Whether Coloradans are getting more preventive care and using fewer potentially avoidable hospitalizations and emergency department visits, an indication of increased access to adequate care. 

Most of the improvement in the 2015 score was driven by increased insurance coverage, largely due to Colorado’s expansion of Medicaid eligibility.

Despite predictions that the spike in insurance coverage would strain the health care system, for example, making it much more difficult to get an appointment, the index indicates this challenge has been much more manageable than many expected.

Cost is still a barrier to accessing care, but less so than in 2013. The scores would have been even better if the percentage of Coloradans who are underinsured – paying a substantial amount out-of-pocket for health care even though they have insurance – had not gone up.

The index also calculates scores for the state’s 21 Health Statistics Regions as well as scores based on ethnicity and income. These show notable access-to-care disparities, although the data suggest disparities by income have narrowed.

Geographic disparities remain consistent, with Coloradans in rural areas of the state having more limited access to care than those in urban areas.

 “Obtaining needed health care is a complicated endeavor for many Coloradans,” said Jeff Bontrager, the Colorado Health Institute’s director of research on coverage and access. “This score has improved slightly since implementation of the ACA, but perhaps not as much as some would have anticipated. It is important to see where there has been improvement and where more work is needed.”

“This index is an important tool for informing community conversations and driving more focused action,” said Aubrey Hill, director of health systems change for the Colorado Coalition for the Medically Underserved. "Community leaders are already rolling up their sleeves to find solutions to access to care challenges, and appreciate having this guidance on where the pain points may be in their region." 

Need More Information?

Media Contact: Deborah Goeken, Senior Director of Operations and Communications, goekend@coloradohealthinstitute.org or 720.382.7094.

Jeff Bontrager, Director of Research on Coverage and Access, is available for interviews. Jeff can be reached at bontragerj@coloradohealthinstitute.org or 720.382.7075. 

About the Colorado Health Institute

The Colorado Health Institute is a trusted source of independent and objective health information, data and analysis for the state’s health care leaders. We are a nonpartisan and nonprofit health policy research organization. The Colorado Health Institute is funded by the Caring for Colorado Foundation, Rose Community Foundation, The Colorado Trust and the Colorado Health Foundation.

About the Colorado Coalition for the Medically Underserved

The Colorado Coalition for the Medically Underserved has always worked in collaboration with health care providers, policy and decision makers, industry experts, advocates, and individuals in communities across Colorado. It is our mission to create opportunities and eliminate barriers to good health for Coloradans who are medically underserved. Our perspective on bringing health care to all Coloradans spans from local, on-the-ground involvement within communities to high-level strategic talks with policymakers. We share with state leaders the needs of the people, and we share with community leaders our knowledge about how to work within the system to get things done.