Audit Finds Serious Financial Failures at Colorado’s Health Exchange

By: Marianne Goodland | The Denver Gazette

Worries that the quasi-governmental agency that operates Colorado’s official state-based health insurance marketplace was spending money for political purposes turned out to be unfounded, according to a new audit.

But the state audit found that Connect for Health Colorado has serious problems with its financial management, including a lack of oversight on the use of a credit card by its chief executive officer.

That questionable spending included up to $13,000 on alcohol alone over an 18-month period.

The audit released Monday by the Legislative Audit Committee looked into the financial management and sponsorship activity of Connect for Health Colorado. It found that the organization’s policies and oversight need major changes.

The audit was requested by Sens. Dafna Michaelson Jenet and Jim Smallwood and preliminarily approved by the audit committee in March 2024, based on a claim that a sponsorship from Connect for Health had gone to a left-leaning cause in 2023. 

Connect for Health Colorado, the audit said, is a quasi-governmental organization that operates the official state-based health insurance marketplace tasked with increasing healthcare access, affordability and choice. It enrolls about 300,000 Coloradans in health insurance plans tied to the Affordable Care Act.

The organization sponsors events and organizations to educate the public on its services, “generate brand awareness, and build referral channels and relationships.” 

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