What You Will Learn: This article goes into detail about the current healthcare market in Colorado, which is a major pressure on group health insurance decision-making for businesses. We will review information that employers should know, including:
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Despite legislative promises, Colorado’s healthcare premiums continue to climb, with many employers seeing double-digit increases in their group health coverage. Business insurance strategies in 2026 and beyond will focus on reducing premium costs while addressing the needs of modern employees. For many businesses, the solution will be to sidestep the monopolies on care costs that legislators and hospitals have created and to find an alternative, more business-friendly insurance solution moving forward.
While this article provides a starting point for employers making insurance decisions, a local advisor with knowledge of Colorado’s compliance requirements and opportunities is your best resource for maximizing group health benefits and value in 2026.
The State of Employer-Funded Healthcare in Colorado
As many of Colorado’s employers know, inaction in Congress led to the state’s enhanced premium tax credits expiring in 2025. For the 225,000 residents affected, this will result in a premium increase of over 100%, doubling their healthcare costs and causing an estimated 75,000 residents to lose coverage completely.
For business owners new to the state or unaware of the benefits, these tax credits have lowered premium costs since 2021 and expired as of December 31, 2025. This means that employers in Colorado now have the difficult task of providing group health insurance without tax credits, in a state where premiums continue to rise.
Additionally, as healthcare becomes less affordable, individuals will place greater value on their coverage. They will select their positions and gauge their loyalty in large part based on the availability and quality of their coverage. In 2026, employers will need to find health insurance strategies that meet their workers’ needs and lower coverage costs in the absence of congressional action.
How Can Group Health Policies Help Manage Costs?
Even if business owners know the factors that have contributed to premium increases, they may not know how a modern business can recover from legislative mistakes and provide affordable, satisfactory health insurance for employees. Group health insurance plans, when properly implemented, could be the answer for many organizations.
What Are Group Health Insurance Plans?
Group health insurance plans can provide financial savings by spreading risk more evenly, without sacrificing essential services or tax advantages. The most significant advantage is the ability to customize the plan to your organization’s needs.
Under conventional retail plans, the carrier groups vendors, pharmacies, claims managers, and other administrators into the plan. This can be convenient and streamlined, but it leads to high overage costs because the internal management team isn’t customized to the organization’s specific situation. Some services may be too excessive, while others may be too limited.
With custom group plans, costs can be carefully managed by competitively shopping each role on the insurance management team. This also helps employees keep their options open with providers and facilities, since the plans aren’t tied to specific networks.
Traditional health insurance cost management strategies involve raising deductibles, reducing coverage, or removing services to achieve a balance of benefits and expenses. For modern employees, especially in Colorado, these cost-saving measures can result in a loss of satisfaction and company loyalty. Custom group plans help fill the gaps in the services each workforce needs.
Essential Takeaway: Custom health plans provide employers with ways to reduce premiums and expand their plan’s flexibility. This lowers the impact of cost claims on future price changes and helps both employers and employees achieve long-term stability in their benefits planning.
How Local Employee Benefits Consultants Can Help
Local benefits consultants will know the ins and outs of Colorado’s healthcare market, including the choices available to organizations based on their size, goals, and financial means. For example, organizations with fewer than 50 employees can take advantage of the Colorado Option, which may provide benefits at a lower cost.
Consultants can also help consolidate providers based on the workforce’s demographics and other needs. Their job is to evaluate your benefits’ performance, analyze claims data, and adjust coverage based on local, industry, and legislative trends. Planning, communicating, and implementing custom workforce health strategies can be difficult, especially given Colorado’s state lawmakers’ inaction, which has reduced healthcare affordability.
Local consultants provide the resources that executives need to approach their employee benefits planning strategy with an eye for compliance and affordability, without losing sight of what their employees need.
Connect With Employee Benefits Consultants in Colorado
At New City Insurance, our benefits consultants recognize the challenges of providing employee coverage in Colorado. With so many external factors driving your costs, your organization could benefit from a team with experience in the Colorado healthcare market. We customize group health plans to help businesses consolidate provider networks, reduce unnecessary costs, and customize benefits to their workforce’s needs.
Contact our team and schedule a consultation to learn how our custom workforce benefits strategies can help you manage rising premium costs and increase employee satisfaction, even in a difficult legislative environment.