A Local Approach to Better Healthcare
Peak Health Alliance’s mission is to provide access to comprehensive and affordable health insurance for individuals, families, and employers in rural Colorado.
We are a nonprofit health insurance purchasing alliance. We are led by our communities. Our role is community advocacy—on behalf of individuals like you—with healthcare providers, physicians, healthcare facilities, the state of Colorado, and insurance companies.
We use the purchasing power of the communities we represent to negotiate lower health insurance premiums. We offer health insurance plans through an insurance carrier selected based on their ability to offer the most competitive rates and comprehensive plans.
While our ability to operate and offer plans is granted under Colorado law and enforced by the Division of Insurance, we are not a state agency.
The key to our success is a collaborative approach that includes local leaders and providers in developing innovative healthcare solutions.
Background
When the residents and community leaders in Summit County discovered that they were paying among the most expensive healthcare premiums in the United States, they took action. In 2017, The Summit Foundation, a community-based non-profit, created a task force focused on tackling health insurance costs.
Peak Health Alliance was born out of this task force in 2019 and began sponsoring plans in Summit County for the 2020 plan year. In 2021, Peak Health Alliance became its own 501c3 nonprofit. Over the next two years, Peak expanded its service area to include nearby Grand, Lake, and Park counties. In Southwest Colorado, Peak partners with the Local First Foundation to serve Dolores, La Plata, Montezuma, and San Juan counties. Archuleta County is new for 2024.
Key Attributes
- Peak Health Alliance is owned and governed by its members. Members elect the Board of Directors, the majority of which must also be members of Peak Health Alliance.
- Peak Health Alliance is funded by a member access fee that is included in premiums, and through grants from generous benefactors.
- Peak Health Alliance is not an insurance company, third party administrator (TPA), or medical provider. We are a community organizing group that works with local providers and civic leaders willing to help their neighbors access high-quality care at reasonable rates.
How Peak Works
By analyzing local claims data in each county, Peak identifies what residents are paying for care. That analysis is a starting point for negotiation with hospitals, physicians, other health care providers, and insurance carriers. We then negotiate and design plans that are compliant with the ACA (the Affordable Care Act) based on each community’s needs.
By law, Peak Health Alliance is not allowed to bear risk, so we partner with an insurance carrier, Elevate Health Plan administered by Denver Health Medical Plans to offer our plans in the regions we serve. For self-insured employer groups, Peak Health Alliance offers access to its negotiated rates directly to the employer’s chosen third-party administrator.
Building Success with Local Leadership
Each county served by Peak Health Alliance has different needs and different factors that yield varying costs, and different approaches to providing care.
Peak Health Alliance relies on local steering committees that play a vital role in building local solutions, helping maintain strong community connections, and building strong provider relationships.
Real Insurance, Real Results
Although our focus is on local care, Peak members have access to ANY medically necessary care—even when that care cannot be provided in their community. Our statewide network of hospitals includes the entire Centura Health statewide network, UCHealth University of Colorado Hospital, Children’s Hospital Colorado in Denver, Middle Park Health, St. Vincent Health, and Pagosa Springs Medical Center.
In its brief existence, Peak Health Alliance has saved members more than $16.1 million dollars across the communities it serves. These savings mean money that would have been spent on insurance premiums remained in the local economy.
Beyond simply reducing insurance premiums, Peak focuses on expanding access to providers of critical services with innovative plan designs that include options like pre-deductible unlimited primary care visits, flat-rate imaging, and free behavioral health therapy visits (not subject to a deductible).
Options for Business
Peak Health Alliance has played a role in helping small businesses of nearly every size offer health insurance—often for the first time. Peak Health Alliance champions an innovative, tax-free reimbursement program that helps control cost and maximize choice. These are known as ICHRAs (Individual Coverage Health Reimbursement Arrangements).
Why it Works
Peak Health Alliance’s work starts with an emphasis on data and analytics. The information gleaned is shared with the community and our members become our advocates. We pool the purchasing power of entire communities and use that power to be a stronger negotiator with the big players that drive healthcare costs.
By partnering with employers, local hospitals, physicians, providers, and community leaders, Peak Health Alliance strives to build robust, cost-effective plans for communities. Our goal is to ensure good coverage and access to local care without the barriers imposed by out-of-reach premiums, copays, and deductibles.
For more detail on the plans and how they work, visit our FAQ page here.
Peak Health Alliance Partners
