Grant helps Health Alliance aid with complicated health insurance plans
Thanks in large part to a $21,000 grant from local donors and coordination between two local foundations — Aspen Community Foundation and Aspen Valley Hospital Foundation — the Valley Health Alliance has over the past two years helped more than 100 people navigate the complicated individual health insurance market and find plans that fit their needs and budget, according to the alliance.
Valley Health Alliance employee Taylor McBride also collaborated with Glenwood Springs-based Mountain Family Health Center last fall to sign up undocumented residents with health insurance through the state’s innovative OmniSalud program. In addition, McBride has helped numerous local organizations gain an understanding of their options for supporting employees with health insurance and healthcare costs, and directed them to contact a local health insurance broker, according to the alliance.
This was made possible by the grant, which paid for McBride’s training and subsequent work since 2021 as a certified health insurance assister with Connect for Health Colorado. Connect for Health Colorado is the state-authorized organization that oversees the individual health insurance market and provides online tools and trained support staff like McBride.
“This grant allows us to directly help underserved and uninsured individuals and families,” said the alliance’s executive director, Chris McDowell. “It’s one way we’re working to support the larger community.”
While the grant was initiated through local donors and organized through the Aspen Community Foundation, it is administered by the Aspen Valley Hospital Foundation because Aspen Valley Hospital is the fiscal agent for the alliance.
The Valley Health Alliance is a Carbondale-based nonprofit organization composed of large employers that self-fund their employee health insurance, local chambers of commerce, regional hospitals and primary care providers between Aspen and Parachute. The alliance has been working for nine years to find sustainable solutions for our local health-care economy that improve health-care outcomes and lower costs, according to the alliance. It is funded primarily by the large employers, including Aspen Valley Hospital, Aspen Skiing Company, city of Aspen, Pitkin County, Valley View Hospital and Grand River Health Centers.
The alliance works in multiple areas to support its members and the larger community. It has been collaborating with local primary care providers to develop a value-based care system that supports the practices and encourages people to see a family physician regularly, alliance officials said. Such systems have proven to lower costs for patients and their employers while improving health-care outcomes, they said.
The alliance also worked with Rocky Mountain Health Plans and UnitedHealthcare to add a second option to both the individual and small group health insurance markets beginning in 2021, which previously were only served by Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield.
“The VHA has always had a vision to create better and more affordable health insurance and healthcare options with the larger community,” said Aspen Valley Hospital CEO and alliance board member Dave Ressler. “That’s why we appreciate the generous support of the donors and the Aspen Community Foundation.”
The idea for the grant came from Jake Mascotte and other residents in the Roaring Fork Valley with whom he meets regularly. Through his previous work in the health insurance industry and as a volunteer with the alliance, Mascotte became aware that a significant number of area residents qualify for financial support under the Affordable Care Act but are not insured.
“We concluded the best way to help such people was to go to an organization that is already established and doing this work. That’s why we supported the Valley Health Alliance,” he said.
“The VHA is an innovative organization that brings employers and hospitals together to work on very challenging healthcare issues,” said Mascotte. “It’s a great story of working in a complex system and making sure it is not unconsciously unfair to the people who need it most.”
Most of McBride’s work as a certified health insurance assister has been during the “insurance season,” the sign-up period to purchase individual insurance that runs every fall and winter from Nov. 1 to Jan. 15. But his work runs year-round, particularly with individuals who have had significant life disruptions that require them to buy insurance outside the prescribed sign-up period.
Divorce, the death of a parent or spouse, and the loss of employer insurance or Medicaid coverage are reasons people need help throughout the year from assisters like McBride, according to alliance officials. Additionally, he is currently available to help people who are losing Medicaid coverage because of the end of the COVID-19 Public Health Emergency. Those losing coverage now have income levels above the maximum allowed under federal rules.
People who need help navigating the individual insurance marketplace can contact either the Valley Health Alliance at 970-704-8015 or Mountain Family Health Centers at 833-273-6627.
For more information about the Valley Health Alliance or to find a health insurance broker, log onto OurVHA.org. For more: https://connectforhealthco.com
