by Tracy Chamberlin

Real people to talk to and something that’s easy to use. That’s what Coloradoans want when it comes to health care exchanges.

State residents aren’t looking to decode an automated telephone system or untangle a maze of website tabs to get a question answered, according to a report released by a trio of consumer advocacy groups earlier this month.

“People expect a lot from this exchange in terms of customer service,” said Danny Katz, director for the Colorado Public Interest Research Foundation, or CoPIRG.

Three groups, the Colorado Center on Law and Policy, the Colorado Consumer Health Initiative and CoPIRG, came together to find out from state residents what they needed a health care exchange to offer. They presented an overview of those findings to the Colorado Health Benefit Exchange’s Board of Directors on Tuesday.

More than 700 Coloradans participated in the study by either filling out surveys or attending forums and focus groups. Katz commended the turnout, adding that the goal was 500 participants and leaders of the focus groups actually had to turn some individuals away.

The coalition visited five cities and held 27 community forums across the state, including three stops in Durango and one in Ignacio.

Two-thirds of respondents to the survey said they were very likely to utilize the state’s new exchange, which is scheduled to open for business October 2013. The nonprofit, public entity was created in May 2011 through state legislation, which the governor quickly signed it into law.

And the fate of the Colorado exchange does not depend upon the fate of the federal health-care law, the Affordable Care Act, currently facing challenges before the U.S. Supreme Court.

Whether the federal law is deemed unconstitutional or not, the state law, SB 11-200, will still move ahead. Katz said this is one of the reasons it garnered bi-partisan support.

“There is no trigger (that) if the federal reform goes away the state exchange will go away,” Katz said.

He added that most of the money for the exchange’s set up has already been distributed. The bulk of the funding concerns will be operational.

This is also the reason participants in the study were asked to suggest possible sources of funding for the exchange. Unsure about how much it would need to operate and how to value its work, it was a challenging question.

The two most popular suggestions were charging a user fee at the time of the insurance purchase and selling ad space on the exchange’s website. But neither of these funding options will work if state residents aren’t using it.

The first recommendation listed on the report, “Exchange Implementation in Colorado: Engaging the Consumer Perspective,” is that the exchange should focus attention on providing high-quality customer service.

This will inspire consumer confidence and “be critical to the initial and ongoing success of the (exchange),” according to the report.

 “I think people are excited about the potential the exchange can bring,” said CoPIRG Program Coordinator Keelin Kelly, who attended the events in Southwest Colorado.

From students attending Fort Lewis College to members of the Durango Rotary Club and the Southern Ute Community Action Program, residents across the region joined in.

Jaynee Fontecchio-Spradling, the Health Integration Coordinator for the Citizen’s Health Advisory Council in La Plata County, also attended the local events. She said that the exchange is definitely a step in the right direction, but added that it also needs to work for smaller, more isolated rural communities.

“We need to have an exchange that’s useful for us,” she added.

Aside from assisting the coalition, the advisory council is also working with other community members to develop an integrated health-care clinic that could help low-income residents find physical, mental and dental preventive care, something that is currently absent from the health-care marketplace in La Plata County.

“Whatever happens with the exchange and (federal) reform, I still think we can do it,” Fontecchio-Spradling said.

Another purpose of the study is to help the exchanges develop a system that would be charged with helping consumers “navigate” the health-care highway.

Under a new rule released March 12 by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, state exchanges will be directed to partner with groups, called Navigators, who can conduct educational outreach programs and help consumers select plans and find referrals.

No matter what happens at the federal level, the navigator system will be a part of the Colorado exchange.

Seventy percent of study participants said they were “extremely likely” to utilize the navigator system, and their first choice in contacting one of these navigators would be to speak with a real person over the phone who is trusted and knowledgeable.

Most added they would first use the navigator system to understand the cost and coverage of a plan, and secondly to help them figure out which one would work best with their needs and budget.

“Everyone’s looking for something different … that’s why the navigator system is so important,” Katz said.

Another aspect of health care that matters to Colorado residents is cost. When participants were asked which search options they valued most, cost was the primary criteria.

Although access to providers and participating doctors also stood out, when search options were valued separately, the price of the plan mattered most.

Seventy-nine percent of participants said the exchange should “set minimum standards for cost and quality” that insurance companies must meet in order to participate in the exchange. And, seventy-seven percent said they wanted the exchange to negotiate with companies to control premium costs.

“Health insurance is not only costly, it’s complicated,” Katz said.

The coalition of advocacy groups plan to present its findings in greater detail at a summit planned for April 19 in Denver. He said the board is eager for information on the best way to offer affordability, access and choice for state residents, and the coalition hopes to hit the road again to get even more feedback.

For more information, visit www.getcovered.co.org or call 720-382-7083.