Medicare and health insurance in Greeley and Weld County

Two things that decide what you can buy are set county by county, and Weld is on its own for both.

Medicare Advantage plans are approved one county at a time. A plan can be sold in Larimer and not in Weld, or the other way around, so the list of Advantage plans open to you in Greeley is its own list. The same goes for a plan leaving: an Advantage plan can drop Weld County while staying in Fort Collins.

Marketplace plans are priced by region. Colorado is split into rating areas for individual and family coverage, and Weld County is its own area, separate from Larimer. Insurance companies set their prices for each area, so a quote for a Fort Collins address tells you little about what the same plan costs in Greeley.

Greeley has two hospitals, and they belong to different health systems:

• North Colorado Medical Center, on 16th Street, is part of Banner Health.
• UCHealth Greeley Hospital, on West 29th Street, is part of UCHealth.

An insurance plan signs its own contract with each system, and a plan can include one and leave out the other. If you have a doctor or a hospital you want to keep, that question comes before the price. We explain how to check it yourself in finding out whether a plan covers your doctor.

On Medicare the question depends on the path. Medicare Advantage plans have networks, so the same check applies. Original Medicare with a Medicare Supplement has no network at all: any doctor or hospital that takes Medicare takes you.

You do not need a broker to get good advice, and we would rather you knew these exist:

• Medicare counseling (SHIP). The State Health Insurance Assistance Program gives free, unbiased Medicare help. In Weld County it runs through UCHealth Aspen Club, at (970) 495-8558. The statewide line is 888-696-7213.
• Connect for Health Colorado enrollment help. North Colorado Health Alliance runs a certified enrollment center in Evans, at (970) 350-4673.
• Health First Colorado (Medicaid). Weld County Department of Human Services takes applications at 315 North 11th Avenue in Greeley, at (970) 352-1551.

What we add is the part those programs are not set up to do: we are appointed with the insurance companies, so we can enroll you in a plan, and the same advisor is there when a claim or a renewal goes wrong. It costs you nothing either way.