Governor Hickenlooper announced the appointments to the first Colorado Health Benefits Exchange Board today. “This will be a Colorado-based health exchange that is created by Coloradans, for Coloradans,” said Hickenlooper. “The Exchange represents a broad collaborative effort between businesses, consumers, providers, the insurer community and the state legislature. We are excited to be a leader among states on this issue, and one of 10 states that passed legislation.”
The Exchange will be governed by nine voting board members and three ex-officio members. The members appointed by the Governor, Senate and House Majority and Minority leadership are:
- Richard T. Betts of Telluride, with a term to expire 2013. Betts is the owner, ASAP Accounting & Payroll, Inc.
- Eric Grossman of Englewood, with a term to expire 2013. Grossman is a vice president of TriZetto.
- Robert S. Ruiz-Moss of Lone Tree, with a term to expire 2013. Ruiz-Moss is the Chief Executive Officer of Anthem Blue Cross.
- Elizabeth Soberg of Centennial, with a term to expire 2013. Soberg is the Chief Executive Officer of UnitedHealthcare of Colorado.
- Gretchen Hammer of Denver, with a term to expire 2015. Hammer is the Executive Director for the Colorado Coalition for the Medically Underserved.
- Stephen ErkenBrack of Grand Junction, with a term to expire 2015. ErkenBrack is the president of Rocky Mountain Health Plan.
- Arnold Salazar of Alamosa, with a term to expire 2015. Salazar is the Executive Director of Colorado Health Partnerships, LLC.
- Nathan Wilkes of Arapahoe, with a term to expire 2015. Wilkes is the founder and principal consultant, Headstorms, Inc.
- Dr. Michael Fallon of Denver, with a term to expire 2015. Fallon is an emergency room physician
The Colorado Health Exchange was created by Senate Bill 11-200. It will be an independent public entity not affiliated with an existing state agency or department and initially funded by gifts, grants and donations. The first meeting of the Exchange Board will be held on Monday, July 11th. CRHC will be monitoring the activities of this board, particularly as it pertains to access and affordability for rural Coloradans.
