Our impact in Colorado

In this section

Public policy

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Kaiser Permanente has provided care and coverage to Colorado residents since 1969. We’re proud to be one of Colorado’s largest health care providers and a leading nonprofit health plan.

Across the region, we have approximately 505,733 members, 32 medical offices, and a network of partner hospitals.

Our 6,780 physicians and employees in Colorado focus on improving the health of our members and communities in the Denver, Boulder, Fort Collins, Colorado Springs, and Pueblo areas.

Our history — and our future — are deeply connected to organized labor. More than 60% of our health care professionals in Colorado are union members. We work closely with the Service Employees International Union and the United Food and Commercial Workers International Union. Together, we work to make high-quality health care more accessible and affordable for everyone.

Key issues

Most Americans receive health care coverage through their employer. Employers generally choose between 2 ways of funding when they sponsor a health plan on behalf of their workforce: self-funded or fully insured.

Self-funded plans are an agreement in which the employer (or labor trust) directly takes on the financial risk of paying for their employees’ medical claims as they occur. With fully insured health plans, the employer purchases an insurance or coverage product through an insurer or coverage provider, such as Kaiser Permanente. The health insurer or coverage provider takes on the risk for the cost of covered care.

Self-funded plans are generally not subject to state regulations and requirements. As the largest provider of fully insured plans in Colorado, Kaiser Permanente has a much higher proportion of plans subject to state regulatory authority and state taxes and fees compared to other carriers in the state.

	Self-funded	Fully insured
Payments	The employer does not pay premiums; instead, it pays fixed costs (administrative fees and stop-loss premiums) and variable costs (employee health care claims).	The employer pays monthly premiums to an insurance carrier or coverage provider.
Assumption of risk	The employer assumes the risk.	The health plan or insurance company assumes the risk.
Compliance payments	The Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 generally preempts state regulations and taxation.	The plan must comply with state regulations and taxation.
Regulatory authority	The federal government regulates.	The state and federal governments regulate.

Colorado market and health plan membership graph

Note: Market size according to Decision Resources Group as of January 2020, including individuals with dual Medicare and Medicaid coverage. Data for Colorado (statewide).

Colorado Market
Coverage	Percentage
Self-funded, administrative services only	30
Fully insured, under state taxing authority	25
Medicaid	24
Medicare Advantage	8
Medicare supplemental	13

Kaiser Permanente is 32.8% of the 25% of the fully insured market.

Kaiser Permanente of Colorado Health Plan membership as of August 31, 2020
Coverage	Percentage
Self-funded, administrative services only	3.8
Fully insured, under state taxing authority	71
Medicaid	6.5
Medicare Advantage	18.7

Tobacco is a leading cause of preventable death and disease in Colorado. Every year, Coloradans pay $2.9 billion for smoking-related health care costs.

Reducing tobacco use is critical to improving the health of our communities. This is why we advocate for policies that prevent people from starting to use tobacco products and help people who are already addicted quit.

In 2022, Kaiser Permanente strongly supported a Colorado House bill, HB22-1064, that would have banned the sale of flavored tobacco and nicotine products, including menthol cigarettes, across the state.

The legislation ultimately failed, but we’ll continue supporting laws that ban flavored tobacco products.

Flavors make tobacco products seem less harsh. And flavored products appeal to young people. Our goal is to give all young people a chance to grow up free from nicotine addiction.

We’re concerned about the burden high drug prices impose on our members and society.

We provide our members with safe, high-quality medications at a strong value for their dollar. We do this by:

Prescribing based on evidence
Negotiating drug prices
Using generics and biosimilars
Tracking safety and outcomes

As a health plan, provider, and pharmacy in one, we have a diverse perspective on the prescription drug marketplace. Our experience informs an array of policy positions designed to make prescription drugs more effective, safer, and more affordable.

Our impact

In 2022, we provided $89 million to support the health of Colorado communities. That amount includes the cost of providing charitable care and coverage. Specific efforts include:

Donor-advised fund: Allocated $8.5 million to the Denver Foundation, which stewards charitable funds to organizations throughout the 7-county metro Denver region and across Colorado.
Medical Financial Assistance program: Approved over 8,000 requests for medical financial assistance. We also covered the cost of more than 76,000 prescriptions for Coloradans who have low incomes and are uninsured. In total, we provided nearly $21 million in medical financial assistance.
Housing initiatives: Contributed $500,000 to the Dearfield Fund for Black Wealth, addressing the racial wealth gap and Black families’ homeownership challenges. We also granted $1 million to Denver Housing to Health for housing and intensive case management for improving lives and reducing costs for people in need.
Medical respite programs: Provided $500,000 in grants to organizations like Colorado Coalition for the Homeless that provide safe recovery spaces and services leading to permanent housing.
Economic opportunities for entrepreneurs of color: Invested $600,000 in local organizations that help entrepreneurs of color receive training and networking opportunities, and access capital.
Job training and placement: Directed $400,000 to help people facing employment barriers. The money went toward programs that offer job training and placement in quality jobs.

Our care

Patient-centered care: Twenty-six Kaiser Permanente medical offices in Colorado, which include nearly 375 of our primary care doctors, have earned top-level Patient-Centered Medical Home recognition from the National Committee for Quality Assurance. The recognition reflects the medical offices’ patient-centered care, integrated teams, and coordination.
Quality and service: Kaiser Permanente offers highly rated commercial health plans and the highest-rated Medicare health plan in Colorado, according to NCQA 2023 rankings.
Medicare Advantage: U.S. News and World Report named Kaiser Permanente of Colorado to its 2024 Best Insurance Companies for Medicare Advantage list. And our Medicare plans in Colorado earned 4.5 out of 5 stars in 2024 from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services.

Our people

Top doctors: Each year, 5280 magazine asks more than 7,500 Denver area doctors which doctors they’d trust to treat themselves and their families. In 2023, a record 186 Kaiser Permanente doctors were named Top Doctors by 5280 — that’s 28% of all doctors on the magazine’s list. Since 2013, 478 Kaiser Permanente doctors have been named Top Doctors by 5280.

Strengthening Colorado together

Join us in shaping a healthier future for Colorado. At Kaiser Permanente, our dedicated care, comprehensive services, and community partnerships are designed to empower our members and strengthen communities. Together, we can achieve lasting health and wellness across the state.