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nudge to come in for a checkup.

Cancro said the network will initially o er care to more than 300,000 patients. But Cancro said the goal is for more insurers besides SelectHealth to strike deals with the new network, meaning it could bring in more patients. He said it’s also possible that additional doctors’ groups and medical providers could join the network.

Consumer advocates are skeptical of all these promises. To them, this sounds an awful lot like what hospital systems have said for years when buying up local hospitals or merging with other systems.

As in many other states, Colorado’s health care system has been consolidating. And not always to the bene t of the patient’s pocketbook.

“Hospital consolidation is likely the biggest driver of prices and operating margins in Colorado’s Front Range counties,” a 2020 report from the Center for Economic and Policy Research stated.

e new clinically integrated network isn’t an exact analogue to a hospital merger. But it has enough similarities that folks like Robert Smith, the executive director of the Colorado Business Group on Health, will believe its promises of lower prices and better care only when he actually sees it. Smith has long been a champion of reducing health care costs in Colorado.

“ ere’s no evidence in the literature that these mergers improve outcomes,” Smith said. “ ey’ve all said that. But there’s no evidence.”

What is SelectHealth and when will it launch?

Intermountain is a new player in Colorado’s health care market. Last year, it merged with SCL Health, giving it a presence in Colorado for the rst time. SelectHealth is Intermountain’s insurance arm — and, like Intermountain and UCHealth, it is nonpro t.

SelectHealth hopes to have plans available for sale in Colorado at the end of this year for coverage that vidual insurance market, including via the Connect for Health Colorado insurance exchange.

UCHealth’s Cancro said SelectHealth won’t sell insurance in every Colorado county. Instead, it will launch in around 16 to 18 counties, he said. ose will mostly be along the Front Range, to match UCHealth’s and Intermountain’s footprints for their health systems.

First, though, SelectHealth must receive approval from the state’s Division of Insurance. e division is reviewing SelectHealth’s application and will announce a decision later this year.

“ e DOI is just learning about this joint venture, and we will need to further analyze what it entails and what impact it will have on the state’s health insurance market,” Colorado Insurance Commissioner Michael Conway said in a statement. “But, this announcement is a clear indication that Colorado continues to be a place where health insurance companies want to come to, and that they want to do business in our individual health insurance market.”

Despite the obvious inside connection, leaders of UCHealth and Intermountain said SelectHealth won’t be getting a sweetheart deal when it contracts with the new clinically integrated network, or CIN, as the executives refer to it.

“ e CIN will treat SelectHealth just like all payers here,” Mark Korth, Intermountain Healthcare’s regional president, said in a statement. “Any plan that aligns with the CIN’s goals of ensuring a better patient experience and health outcomes while lowering costs will be considered a valuable partner.” is story is from e Colorado Sun, a journalist-owned news outlet based in Denver and covering the state. For more, and to support e Colorado Sun, visit coloradosun.com. e Colorado Sun is a partner in the Colorado News Conservancy, owner of Colorado Community Media.