With the open enrollment period for health insurance in full swing, Colorado’s Division of Insurance released a guide for how the state’s individual and small group plans cover gender-affirming care as well as HIV prevention and treatment. 

“Access to comprehensive, inclusive and affirming healthcare is a cornerstone of well-being for the LGBTQ+ community,” stated Nadine Bridges, executive director of LGBTQ+ advocacy organization One Colorado, in a news release. 

Individuals and small employers — those with 99 or fewer employees — can purchase insurance plans through the state’s marketplace, Connect for Health Colorado, from six insurance providers. This includes Anthem, Cigna, Denver Health, Kaiser Permanente, Rocky Mountain Health Plans and Select Health.

In the guides for gender-affirming care and HIV prevention and treatment, the Division of Insurance provides information on which plans, both on and off its marketplace, cover common services. 

The gender-affirming care guide includes information on coverage for various hormone therapy services and surgical procedures. The HIV guide shares coverage information on various prescription medications to prevent and treat the virus. 

Both guides also include what requirements and protections the state has around coverage of these services and prescriptions. In 2023, Colorado became the first state to explicitly include gender-affirming care services in its benchmark health insurance plan for essential health benefits.