Almost 250,000 Colo. residents lose health plans under ObamaCare

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President Obama tweaks 'you can keep your plan' message

Millions of Americans receive cancellation notices from health insurance companies

Almost 250,000 Colorado residents have or will have their health insurance plans cancelled under ObamaCare, the state’s Division of Insurance said Wednesday.

A spokesman for the agency said in a press release that the plans are being cancelled for numerous reasons, one being that some of the plans do not meet the new requirements for patient care under the Affordable Care Act.

The agency stated that so far under ObamaCare, 106,083 people in the individual market have lost their plans and 143,116 people in the small group market have lost theirs.

The agency said it is addressing the cancellations to quell consumer “alarm or confusion” over changes to their health insurance.

"Consumers who have questions about these letters or any questions about their health insurance policy should contact the Division," Commissioner of Insurance Marguerite Salazar said in a statement.  "While some plans are being cancelled, Coloradoans have many new options for 2014, due to the strength and competitiveness of our health insurance market."

KDVR reports that just 3,408 Colorado residents have signed up for health insurance so far using the ObamaCare exchanges. However, 34,168 Colorado residents have signed up for insurance under the law’s Medicaid expansion.

On Monday, President Obama continued to fine tune his promise that Americans who like their health plans would be able to keep them, as thousands of consumers receive health insurance cancellation notices.

The president told about 200 of his campaign supporters and health care activists that the administration had promised Americans they could keep their current coverage -- as long as their plans hadn’t changed since ObamaCare was signed into law.

"If you have or had one of these plans before the Affordable Care Act came into law and you really liked that plan, what we said was you could keep it if it hasn't changed since the law's passed," Obama said. "So we wrote into the Affordable Care Act you are grandfathered in on that plan. But if the insurance company changes it, then what we're saying is they have got to change it to a higher standard. They've got to make it better."

Obama said his health care law is making the insurance market better for everyone, even though millions of Americans who buy individual plans have been receiving cancellation notices. He said the notices "can be scary for people," but added they were often getting "a very bad deal."

"The bottom line is -- is that we are making the insurance market better for everybody and that's right thing to do," he said.

The Associated Press contributed to this report