Kaiser Permanente Colorado has reached an agreement with the state to return $155 million to its customers over the next two years.
The state’s largest health-maintenance organization and the Colorado Division of Insurance today announced the agreement, which took more than a year to hammer out.
“It is a win for Colorado consumers and for health care in the state,” said Gov. Bill Ritter.
Kaiser Permanente will provide a credit of $287 per individual subscriber in 2009 and again in 2010. That amount is about the average monthly premium to cover a single adult.
Employers also will receive a credit for $287 in each of those years per enrolled employee. They can keep the credit, pass it on to their employees or boost the benefits offered in their plans.
Kaiser Permanente also has agreed to contribute $2.5 million more each year to a program that helps low-income customers meet their co-pays.
The health care provider, focused primarily in Denver and Boulder, will boost its presence in El Paso, Teller, Fremont and Pueblo counties as part of the agreement.
“We have a more aggressive expansion plan,” said Donna Lynne, president of Kaiser Permanente Colorado.
As a nonprofit, Kaiser Permanente doesn’t have to pass on a dividend to shareholders. It has built up reserves of about $700 million, an amount state insurance commissioner Marcy Morrison considered excessive.
“It is up to my discretion when reserves exceed those minimums to step in,” Morrison said.
Kaiser agreed to manage the investment of more of its reserves in the state rather than sending them to its California affiliate.
It also will lease rather than buy facilities in southern Colorado as it expands, reducing the amount of capital it needs to keep in reserve.
Kaiser Permanente provides health care services to more than 485,000 residents in the state and employs more than 5,000 people.
Aldo Svaldi: 303-954-1410 or asvaldi@denverpost.com
