Staff report
Thanks in large part to a $21,000 grant from local donors and coordination between two local foundations — Aspen Community Foundation (ACF) and Aspen Valley Hospital Foundation — the Valley Health Alliance (VHA) has, over the last two years, helped more than 100 people navigate the complicated individual health insurance market and find plans that fit their needs and budget.
VHA 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.
All of 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 VHA 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 ACF, it is administered by the Aspen Valley Hospital Foundation because Aspen Valley Hospital is the fiscal agent for the VHA.
The VHA 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 VHA has been working for nine years to find sustainable solutions for our local healthcare economy that improve healthcare outcomes and lower costs. 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 Center.
The VHA 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. Such systems have proven to lower costs for patients and their employers while improving healthcare outcomes. The VHA 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 VHA board member Dave Ressler. “That’s why we appreciate the generous support of the donors and the ACF.”
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 VHA, 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 VHA,” he shared.
“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 health insurance assister, has been during “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. 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 VHA at 970-704-8015 or Mountain Family Health Centers at 833-273-6627.
For more information about the VHA or to find a health insurance broker, log onto www.OurVHA.org And, to learn more about individual and family health insurance options, log onto www.connectforhealthco.com
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