by Jeff Shultz
A south Denver health care charity is preparing for a pending health care crisis. The passing of HR-1 on July 4, 2025, threatens Affordable Care Act subsidies that made health care affordable for hundreds of thousands of Colorado residents, according to Doctors Care Development and Marketing Director Elizabeth Hockaday.
“A plan that used to have a $100 deductible and $1 monthly premium payments will soon become a $5,000 deductible and $1,200 monthly premium,” says Hockaday. “That’s highly unaffordable for those struggling financially.”
Doctors Care, a nonprofit medical clinic in South Metro Denver, is doing what they can to help reduce the financial barriers. “Doctors Care is an integrated primary care clinic. In addition to well and sick visits, the organization has behavioral and women’s health services onsite and provides programs to help address social determinants of health, and health insurance navigation and enrollment,” Hockaday said.
“Doctors Care is located in Littleton and mainly serves Arapahoe County,” says Hockaday, “but our reach is much larger, extending to Denver, Douglas, and Jefferson Counties to name a few.”
Doctors Care serves over 3,000 people annually through their integrated primary care clinic. “Our patients primarily consist of uninsured individuals and Medicaid-eligible working families who face significant challenges in accessing health care.”
Financially, 90% of DC’s clients are below 250% of the Federal Poverty Level, according to Hockaday. This means a family of four makes around $80,000 annually.
“Seventy percent of our clients are on Medicaid or Child Health Plan Plus (CHP+), with 28 percent uninsured and the remaining two percent privately insured.”
Doctors Care’s financial strategy consists of earned income (copays and medical reimbursements from Medicaid and private insurance), volunteerism, and charitable giving. “In the past, the organization often showed a larger amount coming from earned income than donations, around a 60/40 split.
“With state and federal policy changes affecting reimbursement rates and health insurance availability to Doctors Care’s population shifting, the organization has seen that percentage flip.
“Charitable giving has become more crucial to the sustainability of the organization and its operations.”
According to Hockaday, changes looming from the federal spending bill is creating a “blast from the past” for Doctors Care’s financial landscape.“The bill is recreating a time when health insurance was less accessible due to cost and eligibility,” Hockaday explained.
According to The Kaiser Family Foundation, the federal bill creates a significant gap in healthcare access for hundreds of thousands of Coloradans.
“The foundation estimates the bill will cause approximately 130,000 Coloradans to become uninsured due to changes in the Medicaid program,” she said. “An additional 18,000 state residents will lose insurance to changes to Affordable Care Act (ACA) and around 6,000 from changes to Medicare and policy interactions.”
The foundation also estimates an additional 38,000 could lose their insurance because of the administration’s ACA Marketplace Integrity and Affordability rule finalized earlier this year. In total, Hockaday said 190,000 Coloradans’ coverage is and will be threatened.
“When you add the total impact to Doctors Care, the numbers are stark,” she added. “Since the Public Health Emergency’s Continuous Coverage Unwind that began in 2023, Doctors Care has watched its uninsured populations significantly grow from 8 percent to 23 percent. Doctors Care is expecting that number to rise again in 2026 to 30-40 percent.”
According to Hockaday, it costs DC $785 per visit to conduct uncompensated care for these populations.
“While that creates a significant financial loss for the organization, it is no match to the access barriers that uninsured individuals are now facing,” added Hockaday. “Cost continues to be a barrier for Coloradans when it comes to accessing the healthcare system.”
“The Colorado Health Institute’s Colorado Health Access Survey consistently reports that 1 in 5 Coloradans skip needed care due to cost. This leads to an increase in mortality rates, communities suffering from increased illness, and more.”
Hockaday has a solution to this new health care crisis for Coloradans. “Invest in your community,” she said.“Early giving for Colorado Gives Day began November 1 and continues through December 9.” Hockaday says giving to Doctors Care, or organizations that support food security or housing stability, helps people stay healthy.
“If cost is a barrier, then investing in nonprofits that help to alleviate said barriers will have an amazing impact on our communities.”
For more information on Doctors Care visit www.doctorscare.org.
