As Colorado’s health insurance costs rise, Western Slope residents face ‘tough choices’ next year
Some mountain town residents are reporting increases in their monthly premiums as high as 400%, as federal subsidies are slated to expire
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John Zeising is staring down a more than $1,000 increase in his monthly health insurance premium next year.
The Chaffee County resident weighed whether to drop coverage completely, but his chronic condition means going without insurance isn’t a viable option for him.
Instead, Zeising will likely opt for a plan that delivers less coverage in exchange for a lower premium, but the trade-off also means he will have fewer care options and may even have to forgo treatments.
“I’m going to have to make tough choices, and I think a lot of people are in a similar boat as me,” Zeising said.
Coloradans who shop for their own health insurance are bracing for rising costs next year, as health care plans for 2026 become public.
The issue is largely being driven by the looming expiration of COVID-era subsidies for the Affordable Care Act, a landmark federal health law that helps millions of Americans buy private insurance on government-run marketplaces.
In 2021, Congress passed the Enhanced Premium Tax Credit, which bolstered and expanded existing subsidies for marketplace plans. That benefit was renewed in 2022 and is credited with helping drive record marketplace enrollment in recent years. Now, the enhanced tax credits are slated to expire on Dec. 31, and without action from Congress, it means health care premiums on state-run marketplaces are likely to surge.
Connect for Health Colorado, the state’s government-run marketplace, announced recently that average premiums will double next year for most enrollees. Outcomes will be varied across the board, however.
State-level aid will help keep premiums lower for some, and certain enrollees may experience no premium hike, or even a reduction, in what they pay next year, according to a Connect for Health Colorado spokesperson.
Still, more than two-thirds of the marketplace’s 300,000 enrollees should expect to see a doubling in their premiums next year, the agency said.
On the Western Slope, where health care costs have historically been among the highest in the country, some residents have reported even steeper increases, which were confirmed through documentation provided to the Aspen Times.
Premiums triple, quadruple for some residents
At over $1,000 more a month, Zeising’s 2026 premiums are set to grow by more than 400% compared to what he paid this year, when his monthly premium was about $240. Zeising said the increase is due to the loss of the enhanced tax credit next year.
A retired firefighter who served 15 years with the Red, White and Blue Fire Protection District in Breckenridge, Zeising now lives on a fixed income from his pension.
Zeising left the workforce in March 2022 after being exposed to COVID-19 while on the job, which eventually turned into “long COVID,” a debilitating chronic condition. His wife is also disabled, and between her disability payments and Zeising’s pension, their household income is about $80,000 a year.
If Zeising has to pay an additional $12,000 in insurance premiums next year, he estimates that health care costs could eat up half of the couple’s gross yearly income. His wife is covered by Medicare as part of her disability benefits.
“It’s a huge concern,” Zeising said, adding that he’ll likely drop to a less comprehensive insurance plan next year to try and reduce his premiums.
“Of course, the flip side of that is the way they’re able to offer those plans that have a much lower premium is by having much higher annual out-of-pocket (costs), much higher deductibles, much higher copays … and more limited in-network providers and reduced pharmacological coverage of medications,” he said.
Breckenridge resident Joanne Salazar is facing a similar dilemma. She and her husband are retired, but not yet old enough to qualify for Medicare, so they both receive coverage through plans on Connect for Health Colorado.
This year, Salazar paid $664 in monthly premiums for herself. Next year, her monthly premium for that same plan will go up to $2,583, a nearly 300% increase, once the federal subsidies expire.
Salazar is considering a cheaper plan to save on premiums, but it would mean no longer being eligible for a health savings account. She may also choose to purchase health coverage directly from an insurer rather than on the state marketplace.
“We’ll probably go with a really high deductible,” Salazar said. “We’re trying to do more catastrophic insurance, bottom line, (like) getting into a car accident or something unexpected where the bills can be real high.”
Salazar said she and her husband made sure to fit in as many doctor’s visits as possible this year, not knowing what their coverage will be in 2026.
“Which is kind of crazy,” Salazar said. “The system is obviously broken.”
Costs rise for self-employed Coloradans
Even for some Coloradans who don’t receive federal tax credits, insurance premiums are set to increase next year. That’s because, as the benefits expire, insurers expect more people to drop their plans, effectively shrinking the insurance pool and driving up costs for other enrollees.
Amanda Jones, whose husband owns a Summit County-based property management company and who buys health insurance for her family of three, could be paying between $457 and $1,444 more in monthly premiums for her family’s insurance plan next year.
Jones said their exact plan isn’t being offered again in 2026, and those figures are for plans that most closely align with what they’re currently receiving. The plans could mean facing either a 17% or 70% increase in monthly premiums, with the lower increase coming with a higher deductible and out-of-pocket costs. They have not been receiving federal subsidies.
Jones said she’s never seen premium increases this large before. In the roughly four years that her family has bought health insurance on the state marketplace, year-to-year premium increases have never exceeded 10%.
The family’s business provides reimbursements to help its employees afford their insurance on the state-run marketplace, but as their own costs rise, Jones said employees will likely have to absorb more of those costs.
“It’s sad,” Jones said. “My first reaction for my husband as an employer is, are we going to be able to pay more to cover our employees?”
“We do the best we can, but we can’t cover the increase for our family and for their family,” she continued, “and that just sucks.”
Aspen resident Jeff Cole said he’s facing a more than 40% jump in his monthly premium next year on the state marketplace for him and his wife. Both are self-employed therapists. Cole said he preferred to share the percent increase rather than the dollar amount, which the Aspen Times wasn’t able to independently verify.
Cole has relied on Connect for Health Colorado for insurance for the past decade and said premiums have only increased by about 5% to 10% year over year. Now reportedly facing a more than 40% increase for his same plan in 2026, Cole said he will have to think more about his spending and health choices.
“I’m lucky in that it’s not going to put me out on the street,” Cole said. “But, it is certainly going to make me have to sort of reassess my yearly budget.”
Cole said his larger concern, however, is the future of the Affordable Care Act, which remains the only viable option for health coverage for thousands of Coloradans like him.
The future of health care
As the enhanced tax credits barrel toward expiration, Republicans and Democrats in Congress remain at odds over whether to salvage the benefits before the end of the year.
The issue was at the heart of the 43-day government shutdown, with Democrats demanding an extension of the subsidies as a condition of reopening the government, and Republicans refusing to negotiate until after government funding was restored.
The shutdown ultimately ended last week without an extension of the tax credits, though the Senate’s top Republican promised to hold a separate vote on the issue in December. While the fight was largely about the subsidies, the dispute also became, to some degree, a debate over the Affordable Care Act itself.
Since its passage in 2014, the federal health law has faced praise and criticism from Americans, with those views largely falling along partisan lines. Democrats have pledged to preserve and build upon the law, while Republicans have tried dozens of times to repeal it.
Western Slope residents who rely on the Affordable Care Act and, by extension, the state-run marketplace for their insurance, say the law hasn’t been perfect. But they also worry about attempts to dismantle it.
For Cole, the biggest benefit of the federal law has been its provision that bans insurance companies from denying coverage for preexisting conditions. Cole, who has a preexisting condition related to his spine, said that before the Affordable Care Act, he had been dropped twice by two different insurers and had claims repeatedly denied.
He said he has yet to see a Republican proposal that would be better than the current system.
“I’m certainly not naive to think there aren’t issues and flaws with the (Affordable Care Act),” Cole said. “But, it’s been, what, 15 years since it came out? Which is plenty of time to come up with a better plan.”
Some Coloradans who’ve had to switch from employer-based insurance to paying for their own coverage say their costs are higher on the state marketplace, which has been a major line of attack against the Affordable Care Act.
Salazar, the Breckenridge retiree, said her coverage is about 40% more expensive on Connect for Health Colorado than when she had employer-sponsored insurance. But rather than repeal the Affordable Care Act, Salazar said she wishes lawmakers would move toward more universal health coverage.
Salazar said the enhanced subsidies have helped, but feels those amount to a band-aid approach. She doesn’t think health care should be a for-profit industry.
“I don’t understand why some companies are making $6 billion off of this,” Salazar said, referencing a recent report from UnitedHealth Group that showed the insurer brought in more than $6 billion in profits for the first quarter of 2025.
Zeising, the retired firefighter, said he feels “very fortunate, to some level, in this country that the Affordable Care Act was created and put into place.”
“It is a safety net for so many Coloradans and millions across the country who don’t have any other option for having some level of medical coverage,” Zeising continued.
He said Congress’ failure to extend the subsidies is a “step backward” that will ultimately cost society more because people will go uninsured and become sicker. While Zeising hopes lawmakers will still act to salvage the tax credits, he isn’t banking on a breakthrough.
“Being a firefighter, we always hope for the best, plan for the worst,” he said.
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