Few cities are shaped by military employment the way Colorado Springs is. Fort Carson, Peterson Space Force Base, Schriever, and the Air Force Academy surround the city, defense contractors fill the office parks, and every year thousands of service members separate or retire here and stay. Separation is a coverage cliff, and Colorado handles that cliff differently than most states because there is no short-term product to grab on the way down.
The rules here
| Short-term products | Not available in Colorado |
| Extended short-term (multi-year) | Not available |
| Products available | ACA marketplace, supplemental |
| Exchange type | State-based (Connect for Health Colorado) |
| Open enrollment | Set by the state exchange, generally opening November 1 |
| Medicaid expansion | Yes |
What's available in Colorado Springs
| Coverage line | Available here | Key limit | Learn more |
|---|---|---|---|
| ACA marketplace plans | Yes | Open enrollment or a qualifying event | ACA plans |
| Short-term medical | No | State restrictions leave a zero market | Short-term |
| Extended short-term (multi-year) | No | No carrier offers it in Colorado | Extended plans |
| Fixed indemnity | No | Not sold as standalone coverage in Colorado | |
| Supplemental (accident, critical illness, dental, vision) | Yes | Fixed benefits paired with major medical | Accident · Critical illness · Dental · Vision |
Supplemental products pay set cash amounts for defined events. They are not ACA compliant and never count as minimum essential coverage.
What one person pays for coverage in Colorado
Average monthly premiums for individual coverage. Family pricing differs; quotes are individual.
| Coverage type | Monthly premium (individual) | What that number is |
|---|---|---|
| ACA marketplace (before subsidy) | $673 avg. | State average, before tax credits (CMS Marketplace OEP, 2026).1 |
| ACA marketplace (after average subsidy) | $187 after credit | State average, after the average tax credit, among subsidized enrollees (CMS Marketplace OEP, 2026).1 |
| Employer coverage (single / family) | $698 / $2081 single / family | State average total monthly premium, single / family; employee pays about $159/mo toward single coverage (MEPS-IC, 2024).2 |
| Medicaid | $0 or nominal for those who qualify | Program design, not an average; eligibility is income-based5 |
| Accident | $39.95 median | Among GetHealthPlans.com clients in Colorado with individual coverage, as of July 2026.3 |
| Critical Illness | $55.08 median | Among GetHealthPlans.com clients in Colorado with individual coverage, as of July 2026.3 |
A separating specialist, a defense contractor between clearanced positions, and a church administrative employee will each price differently against those averages. Credits track annual household income and are confirmed only when the application processes.
Averages from federal data and our own client base, not quotes. Your price depends on your age, household, income, and plan choice.
Colorado Springs at a glance
Beyond the installations, the city's economy includes defense and aerospace contractors, a large healthcare sector, tourism driven by Pikes Peak and Garden of the Gods, and the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Training Center. The contractor workforce cycles with program awards, producing regular waves of coverage transitions independent of the military's own.
| Population | County | Metro |
|---|---|---|
| ~479,000 | El Paso (FIPS 08041) | Colorado Springs |
Three Colorado Springs situations
Sgt. First Class Torres, 41, retiring from Fort Carson. His military retirement includes health benefits, but his 22-year-old daughter ages off his coverage. Her coverage loss is her own qualifying event, and at entry-level income her marketplace credit through Connect for Health Colorado is substantial.
Melissa, 36, systems engineer whose contract ended between program awards. Contractor benefits stop with the contract. Her Special Enrollment Period gives her roughly 60 days; she compares COBRA against a marketplace plan and keeps her family covered until the next award lands.
Owen, 52, climbing outfitter near Garden of the Gods. Fifteen years self-employed, he re-shops his marketplace plan every fall as networks shift. An accident supplement fits his line of work.
How Colorado's rules work
Short-term limited duration insurance has a zero market in Colorado: state restrictions are strict enough that no carrier sells the product, and state rules bind regardless of federal enforcement posture. For a city with constant military and contractor transitions, that means every coverage bridge runs through qualifying events rather than stopgap products.
The mechanics are workable. Separation from service, loss of employer coverage, aging off a parent's plan, and moves all open Special Enrollment Periods, generally 60 days. Connect for Health Colorado sets its own open enrollment calendar, generally opening November 1. Expanded Medicaid covers adults on income alone, which matters for junior enlisted spouses and early-career veterans more often than people expect. The single most costly mistake I see here is assuming a gap can be patched later; in Colorado it cannot, so line up the next plan before the last one ends.
Transitioning out or between contracts? A licensed Colorado agent can sequence your coverage with no gap. No obligation.
Keep reading — more Colorado guides
Premium data methodology. 1 Marketplace premium averages reflect the average monthly premium before advance premium tax credits, the average monthly premium after advance premium tax credits among subsidized enrollees, and the percentage of enrollees receiving advance premium tax credits, for Colorado, as reported in the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) Marketplace Open Enrollment Period Public Use Files, 2026 plan year, available at cms.gov. Figures are statewide averages across all metal tiers, ages, and household sizes; your premium will differ based on your age, household, income, county, and plan selection.
2 Employer coverage averages reflect the average total monthly premium for single and family coverage at private-sector establishments in Colorado, including both employer and employee contributions, as reported in the Medical Expenditure Panel Survey Insurance Component (MEPS-IC), Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, 2024 tables, available at meps.ahrq.gov. Employee contribution figure reflects the average employee share of the single-coverage premium. Employer plan costs vary by employer, plan design, and firm size.
3 Client averages are calculated from GetHealthPlans.com (MTG Insurance Agency LLC) internal book-of-business records as of July 15, 2026 and reflect the median or mean monthly premium, as labeled, among active policies providing individual coverage (one covered person) of the stated product type held by our clients residing in the stated state or, where labeled agency-wide, across all states in which we operate. Family and multi-person policies are excluded so that figures reflect what one person pays. Figures are shown only for states and products where our records include a sufficient number of active individual policies to report a meaningful average, with a minimum of ten; combinations below that threshold are not shown. Where a figure is labeled "median," half of our client policies in that group pay less and half pay more. Our client base reflects the products we sell, skews toward medically underwritten coverage, and may not represent all buyers or all plans available in a state. These figures are historical averages of premiums actually paid by our clients, are not quotes, offers, or projections, and are not statements of what any individual will pay. Individual premiums are determined by the insurer at application based on age, location, term length, benefit selections, and underwriting outcomes.
4 No federal or state agency publishes average premium data for short-term limited duration insurance or fixed indemnity insurance. Where we do not display a client-base figure for these products, it is because we do not have sufficient policy volume in that state to report a meaningful average. Short-term and fixed indemnity products are medically underwritten, are not major medical coverage, are not required to cover pre-existing conditions or essential health benefits, and do not constitute minimum essential coverage under the Affordable Care Act.
5 Medicaid and CHIP are public programs, not insurance products sold by this agency. Premiums are $0 or nominal for those who qualify; eligibility is determined by your state based on income, household size, and other factors. The figure shown describes program design, not an average. Contact your state Medicaid agency or HealthCare.gov to check eligibility.