DENVER, Colorado — OmniSalud Health Insurance allows low-income undocumented Coloradans and DACA recipients to enroll in affordable health insurance plans with financial assistance. In just two days, all 11,000 spots for the OmniSalud Health Insurance plans that also provided additional financial assistance were filled. Enrollment opened at the beginning of the month.
"What we know is that the vast majority of folks are living here without documentation are really struggling to access health care and are primarily only accessing health care in emergency situations," said Adam Fox, deputy director at the Colorado Consumer Health Initiative.
This year, OmniSalud exceeded expectations for how quickly all of the spaces would be filled, which Fox said demonstrates the level of need and demand for these types of programs.
"What this underscores is that this is a program that we need to continue to grow and find additional funding for because the need is very clear from the community and the desire to integrate into our health insurance and health coverage systems is really strong," said Fox.
People can still enroll in OmniSalud, but they will have to pay the monthly premium costs. With only low-income individuals eligible for the program, Fox said many may not be able to afford the premiums and entirely forego any coverage at all.
OmniSalud was created by a bill that passed the Colorado state legislature in 2020. This is now the second year enrollment has been open.
Prior to the program, health insurance options for undocumented Coloradans and DACA recipients were limited with health insurance. Many were also hesitant to shop around for insurance fearing their data and personal information may be compromised by the government.
Undocumented individuals wanting to enroll in health insurance plans can still purchase full price Colorado Option plans through OmniSalud. People should enroll by Dec. 15, 2023 for plans starting Jan. 1, 2024. Open enrollment ends Jan. 15, 2024 for plans beginning Feb. 1.
For those who cannot afford the full-cost Colorado Option plans, they may still be able to qualify for Emergency Medicaid for life or limb threatening health events or access Hospital Discounted Care, which is provided to those with incomes up to 250% of the Federal Poverty Level regardless of insurance or documentation status.
More reporting by Angeline McCall:
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