Colorado Health Access Survey Yields Insights About Health Coverage and Care, Housing, Food Security, Substance Use

DENVER - Colorado’s uninsured rate has not dropped since 2015.

Nearly a third of Coloradans has received a surprise medical bill, and 18.1 percent struggle to pay medical bills – the most since key provisions of the Affordable Care Act took effect in 2014.

Approximately 206,000 Coloradans say they have lost a loved one due to the opioid crisis.

And one in 10 Coloradans have had trouble affording food, while one in 15 are concerned about having a stable place to live.

These are a few of the findings from the 2019 Colorado Health Access Survey (CHAS). A new report highlighting the results was released today by the Colorado Health Institute (CHI), which administers and analyzes the survey. The CHAS is a biennial survey of 10,000 Colorado households that offers unique insights into health insurance coverage, access to care, mental health and substance use, and other key health topics.

“The Colorado Health Access Survey allows us to understand how the stories we hear about the health of Coloradans fit into the big picture,” said Michele Lueck, the president and CEO of CHI. “Colorado has made great strides in improving health access, but there’s still work to do. The first step is to get solid data, and that’s what the CHAS provides.”

“This year’s CHAS results are a warning sign: Too many Coloradans can’t afford or access the health care they need, and too many don’t have the things they need to live a healthy life, including secure housing, food, and health insurance,” said Jeff Bontrager, director of research and evaluation at CHI and principal investigator for the CHAS. “Policymakers, state agencies, employers, and communities should continue their efforts to ensure all people in our state have the opportunity to be as healthy as possible.”

Early findings from the CHAS were released in September. The new report has more detailed information about people’s perceptions of the health care system, access to care, affordability, and other issues. It also includes profiles of Coloradans across the state that offer insights into the CHAS data.

The CHAS is funded by The Colorado Trust, the Colorado Health Foundation, the Department of Health Care Policy and Financing, and the Department of Human Services, Office of Behavioral Health. The survey was fielded by Social Science Research Solutions, an independent research company.

Media contacts: 

Joe Hanel | hanelj@coloradohealthinstitute.org | 720.382.7093

Kristi Arellano | arellanok@coloradohealthinstitute.org | 720.382.7080

About the Colorado Health Institute: The Colorado Health Institute is a nonprofit and independent health policy research organization that is a trusted source of objective information, data, and analysis for the state’s health care leaders.