Plain-language explainers, written by the people who answer the phone

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  Individual & Family

  Self-employed? How to build a subsidy income number you can defend

  The premium tax credit asks you to estimate a year's income before it has happened. Here is how to build that number instead of guessing at it.

  Evan Vaughn · 2 min read

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  Enrollment deadlines

  What happens if you miss Colorado's open enrollment window

  Less than you fear, usually. A qualifying life event reopens the door, and there is more on that list than most people realize.

  Lexi Abbott · 2 min read

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  Individual & Family

  The same plan, bought in the wrong place, costs you thousands

  Premiums are identical on and off the exchange. Financial help is not. Buying direct from a carrier by accident is one of the most expensive easy mistakes in this process.

  Lexi Abbott · 2 min read

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  Medicare

  Medicare and Medicaid together, and the help most people miss

  If you have both, or nearly qualify for both, there is assistance with premiums and prescription costs that a lot of people never apply for.

  Lexi Abbott · 2 min read

We publish when a deadline is coming or a rule changes in Colorado — not on a schedule.