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Health Insurance for Small Business Owners in Colorado: Solo to 20 Employees
The right answer changes with headcount. Here's the path for Colorado business owners.
Just you (and family)
You're an individual buyer. Subsidy-eligible after deductions → Connect for Health Colorado. Above the line and healthy → private shared-network PPO on Cigna, Aetna and PHCS PPO. Deduct premiums above the line. Colorado has a flat state income tax, so the self-employed premium deduction helps at both levels.
Two lives — you plus one
A spouse on payroll, a partner, or one W-2 employee opens the small-group market, which is guaranteed-issue with employer-style networks. For two healthy people it's often close to two private plans; for two people where one has a condition, it's frequently the best answer.
3–20 employees
Level-funded and traditional small-group plans. Employer contribution is tax-deductible to the business, and offering coverage is a hiring advantage in Denver's labor market. Under 50 employees there's no mandate to offer it — it's a choice.
Mixed 1099 and W-2 teams
Common in Colorado: a couple of W-2 staff and a bench of 1099 contractors. The W-2s go on a group plan; the contractors each buy individually, and we can set them all up through the same office so nobody falls through.
Colorado requires carriers to sell standardized 'Colorado Option' plans on the marketplace, and mountain-county premiums run well above Front Range prices — the gap private plans tend to close.
Check your options — tell us your headcount and we'll map the path.