Grand Junction area residents will save on average 36 percent on individual health insurance next year over what their premiums would have been without a reinsurance program.

“Coloradans in rural, suburban and urban communities are tired of paying too much for health care, and our reinsurance program delivers real relief and real savings for small businesses and people who don’t get their insurance through their employer,” said Colorado Gov. Jared Polis.

Polis announced the information for approved individual and small group insurance plans and premiums for 2022.

For the state, residents will save on average  24.1 percent on individual health insurance over what the premiums would have been without the reinsurance program. Average savings are higher for areas of the state with higher health care costs, including Grand Junction and Summit County.

Colorado Insurance Commissioner Michael Conway said the reinsurance program as been approved through 2026 and will continue to offer savings. “It is another way we are working to help people not only afford insurance, but to get access to necessary health care.”

Colorado consumers buying individual plans in 2022 will see an average increase of 1.1 percent compared to 2021 premiums. The number of individual plans available across the state will increase from 326 to 527.

The same eight companies from 2021 will offer individual insurance plans for 2022 — Anthem, Bright Health, Cigna Health, Denver Health, Friday Health, Kaiser, Oscar Insurance and Rocky Mountain Health Plans. In the individual market, Bright Health, Friday Health, Oscar and Rocky Mountain HMO are all adding more counties where they will sell plans.

Open enrollment for individual plans will begin Nov. 1 and run through Jan. 15.

In the small group market for employers with two to 100 employees, the overall average change in premiums will be a 4.4 percent increase over the 2021 premiums. 

Twelve companies will offer a total of 553 small group health insurance plans, also an increase over the 429 plans available in 2021.