Mile High Magazine 1/25/2026 Why Rural Colorado Faces the State’s Highest Healthcare Premiums

Guest: Chris Sneed Consumer Economic Specialist Assistant Professor University of Tennessee Extension

The most recent study, the Competition Conundrum by the Colorado Health Institute, it indicates the highest healthcare premiums in the state are in rural and western counties. The baseline for the study was the insurance premium for a 40-year-old man on the Connect for Health Colorado Insurance Exchange. One key problem cited in the study was the lack of competition among the hospitals and insurers. Rectifying a key element of this could drastically lower rural healthcare costs, and it would be done by increasing competition on the insurance market. This is because the smaller population of rural areas don't allow hospitals to spread costs as effectively across numerous patients as in rural areas.

Mile High Magazine takes a look at the issues and people shaping Colorado. Presented by the public affairs department of Bonneville Denver.