Private Health Plans for the Self-Employed in Colorado

I am an independent, licensed health insurance broker, and I am licensed in Colorado. If you are self-employed, a 1099 contractor, or a freelancer, this page covers what exists outside the Marketplace in Colorado — which is a genuinely shorter list than in most states, and it is better to know that up front than to find out after three weeks of searching. There is no fee for my help. The insurance company pays the broker, not you.

No carrier currently sells short-term health insurance in Colorado.

Start here: short-term plans are not sold in Colorado

If you have read that self-employed people can buy a cheap medically underwritten short-term plan, that advice does not travel to Colorado. Colorado law technically permits a short-term policy of no more than six months, non-renewable, and no more than one in a twelve-month period. But in 2019 the state added requirements that these policies be guaranteed-issue, cover essential health benefits, cap age rating at 3:1, and meet an 80% loss ratio. Those requirements removed the reason a carrier would offer one, and no carriers currently sell short-term health insurance in Colorado.

So the honest version is this: in Colorado, the ACA-compliant market is where nearly all real major medical coverage lives. Anyone selling you something that sounds dramatically cheaper and simpler is usually selling you something that is not insurance. Read the options below before you sign it.

Colorado at a glance for the self-employed

Colorado runs its own exchange, Connect for Health Colorado. Six carriers are selling for 2027: Cigna is leaving and Colorado Access is joining Denver Health, SelectHealth, Kaiser Permanente, Anthem and Rocky Mountain HMO. About 277,000 people enrolled for 2026.

• State help up to 400%. Colorado adds its own premium help for households up to 400% of the poverty level: $80 a month for the main applicant in 2026, expected to drop to $70 for 2027.
• The Colorado Option. Standardized public option plans made up half of 2026 enrollment and often have lower premiums and deductibles.
• 2027 rates. Carriers proposed about 13% on average, from about 10% at Kaiser to about 23% at SelectHealth.
• Pregnancy is a qualifying event in Colorado, and reinsurance helps hold down full-price premiums.

The 400% line matters more here than most people expect. For 2027 the credit stops above $63,840 for one person and $132,000 for a family of four, and there is no phase-out. See the full 2027 income limits.

Your private options in Colorado

• No short-term plans. No carrier currently sells short-term health insurance in Colorado.
• The Colorado Option. Standardized public option plans with lower deductibles made up about half of 2026 enrollment and belong in any comparison.
• State subsidies. Colorado adds its own premium help for households up to 400% of the poverty level, which can change the math for self-employed people just under the line.
• Medically underwritten private plans. Health questions up front, often lower premiums for healthy applicants, broad PPO networks, and applications accepted any month.
• Supplemental coverage. Accident, critical-illness and hospital plans can soften a high deductible. How it works.

When private is the right call in Colorado, and when it is not

With six carriers on Connect for Health Colorado for 2027 and proposed 2027 increases averaging about 13%, a healthy Colorado freelancer or business owner over the subsidy line often saves real money with a private plan.

Stay with Connect for Health Colorado if you have an ongoing condition, are pregnant or planning to be, take expensive prescriptions, or qualify for a meaningful tax credit, including Colorado's own state help. If that is you, I will say so.

The tax piece

Most self-employed people can deduct their health insurance premiums, which also lowers the income that counts toward a subsidy. How it works for 1099 workers.

Colorado questions I hear a lot

Do Coloradans use HealthCare.gov?

No. Colorado runs its own exchange, Connect for Health Colorado.

What is the Colorado Option?

Standardized public option plans sold on Connect for Health Colorado. They made up about half of 2026 enrollment.

Does Colorado have its own subsidies?

Yes, for households up to 400% of the poverty level: $80 a month for the main applicant in 2026, expected to drop to $70 for 2027.

Can I buy a short-term plan in Colorado?

No carrier currently sells short-term health plans in Colorado, so the comparison is between Marketplace plans, including the Colorado Option, and other options I can walk you through.

Posey Health Solutions · National Producer Number 20609967 · licensed in Colorado and 30 other states. This page is general information, not advice about a specific plan, and it is not tax advice. Plan availability, carrier participation, and duration limits vary by county, carrier, and plan year, and the rules can change.