The Colorado Health Institute provided four health policy roundtables for Colorado legislators in February and March 2012.
This presentation provides information on essential health benefits, the basic standard of coverage that will be required in all small group and individual health plans in 2014, and the state’s role in determining those standard benefits.
Essential health benefits are the minimum set of health services that must be included in most health insurance plans starting in 2014 under federal health reform. All small group and individual health insur-ance plans sold on and off the Colorado Health Benefit Exchange will be required to cover the essential health benefits. In 2016, this could represent up to one million Coloradans. Coloradans covered by public insurance or large employers will generally be exempt from the essential health benefits guidelines.