The Colorado Health Access Survey — the CHAS — is the premier source of information on health coverage, access to health care, and the factors that influence health in Colorado. The CHAS is a biennial survey of approximately 10,000 households that has been conducted since 2009.
The Colorado Health Institute (CHI) stewards the CHAS. CHI contracted with NORC at the University of Chicago, an independent research company, to conduct the survey. NORC fielded the 2025 CHAS between February and July 2025. Survey data are weighted to reflect the demographics and distribution of the state’s population. The survey was conducted in English and Spanish.
The survey is sampled geographically to ensure reliable estimates for the state’s 21 Health Statistics Regions (HSRs), which were developed by the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment for public health reporting purposes. HSRs may be single counties or groups of counties. Some HSR data may not be reported due to sample size.
As part of the survey sampling methodology, some regions and groups are oversampled to ensure a statistically representative sample of the state. Additionally in 2025, NORC oversampled addresses in HSR 2, or Larimer County, in partnership with the Health District of Northern Larimer County, to improve estimates for this region. Oversampling makes data more reliable for smaller groups of people.
Most respondents completed the 2025 CHAS online. NORC sent letters to randomly selected households throughout Colorado asking them to participate in the survey and directing them to a website or toll-free number to call. All responses to the survey are self-reported and anonymous.
CHI added new questions to the 2025 survey, modified some existing questions, and removed others. New questions focused on dental insurance and coverage and social isolation and connection.
A publication detailing the survey methods is available on the upper left side of this page.
Statistically Speaking
CHI identifies differences and changes that have statistical significance, meaning that it is relatively certain they are not due to chance alone. Small differences may result from random coincidence in who was surveyed rather than indicating a change in Colorado’s population as a whole. If there is at least a 5% chance that our result is coincidental, it is not considered to be statistically significant. For example, the 2015 uninsured rate was 6.7% and the 2021 uninsured rate was 6.6%. There is a greater than 5% chance that the difference is the numbers is statistically insignificant, so CHI describes the uninsured rate as essentially unchanged from 2015 to 2021. In addition, estimates are not displayed when CHI has determined that there are not sufficient survey responses to produce a reliable estimate.
CHI also does not report estimates that are not statistically representative. In many cases, the sample size could be too small, which can result in a high degree of error.
An example of this is the 2025 CHAS uninsured rates. While CHI had a very robust sample of each HSR, a few counties or regions didn’t have enough uninsured people sampled for CHI to feel confident that the estimate was representative of the uninsured population in that area. Because of this, these estimates were not included in the report or other data products. CHI reports estimates that we feel confident represent Colorado’s populations.
Insurance Terminology
Private Insurance
Also known as commercial insurance, this is insurance provided through an employer or purchased by an individual.
- Employer-Sponsored Insurance: Health insurance that is offered through an employer. Generally, employees will pay a portion of the premium price, often through a payroll deduction. CHI includes TRICARE and other military coverage options in this category.
- Individual Market: Health insurance purchased by an individual through a broker; through the state’s health insurance marketplace, Connect for Health Colorado; or from an insurance company directly, including student plans.
Public Insurance
- Medicaid (Health First Colorado): A federal-state partnership that provides health care coverage primarily to people who have low incomes. The term “Medicaid” and the Colorado program’s name, Health First Colorado, were both used in the survey language.
- Child Health Plan Plus (CHP+): A federal-state health insurance program for children and pregnant people. It is for people who earn too much to qualify for Medicaid, but not enough to pay for private health insurance.
- Medicare: The federal health insurance program for adults 65 or older and people with disabilities. Most people in those categories qualify for Medicare, regardless of income or assets.
Other Insurance
This category includes a Railroad Retirement Plan and anyone who selected “other.”
Uninsured
This category includes people who indicated they have no insurance. It also includes other self-reported sources not considered to be comprehensive coverage, such as health care sharing ministries or coverage through the Indian Health Service.
Federal Poverty Level
Federal Poverty Level (FPL): The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services sets poverty guidelines to use for administrative purposes, such as determining eligibility for programs like Medicaid. In 2025, the FPL was $15,650 for a single person and $32,150 for a family of four.
Race, Ethnicity, Gender, Gender Identity, and Sexual Orientation
People who responded to the CHAS were asked about race, ethnicity, gender, gender identity, and sexual orientation. CHI developed wording and categories on all survey items. Certain items were developed in consultation with question sponsors or outside advisors or based on other surveys.
This section includes an explanation of some terms used in this report. In some cases, estimates are not displayed because the number of people reporting a particular identity was too small to provide a sufficient sample for analysis. To avoid erasing these groups and identities, CHI identifies which groups were not shown in figures or analysis because the estimate may not be representative of the population.
Race and Ethnicity
The survey asked respondents if they are Hispanic or Latino — considered by CHI to be an ethnic identity. Separately, respondents were asked which race(s) they identify as. Racial categories in the CHAS are: American Indian or Alaska Native, Asian, Black or African American, Hispanic/Latino (asked only of those identifying Hispanic/Latino ethnicity), Middle Eastern or North African, Native Hawaiian or other Pacific Islander, white, or some other race. Respondents could mark more than one choice.
In 2025, CHI analyzed the data using non-mutually exclusive groups, meaning that a person who said they belonged to multiple racial/ethnic groups is represented in each of those groups. This means that in some charts, the numbers may not add up to 100%. This also means that some 2025 data reported by race and ethnicity may not be directly comparable to data in CHAS reports from previous years. If you are unsure how to interpret or trend data by race/ethnicity, please contact CHI.
All racial groups identified in CHAS data, unless otherwise specified, are considered “non-Hispanic/Latino.”
Gender and Gender Identity
CHI included a question on the 2025 CHAS about what sex a person was assigned at birth and a question about a person’s current gender, which may or may not be the same as their sex assigned at birth. The gender categories on the CHAS include female, male, transgender, or an option for the respondent to write in a different term.
CHAS respondents were asked if they consider themselves to be transgender. CHAS analyses use the terms transgender and cisgender, respectively, to describe people whose gender identities do and do not differ from the sex they were assigned at birth.
Sexual Orientation
CHAS respondents were asked how they identify their sexual orientation. Response options included straight, gay or lesbian, bisexual, and other sexual orientation.
LGBTQ+
CHI combined responses of people identifying as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, or other sexual orientation into a single category (LGBTQ+) for analysis. The “Q+” is intended to include people identifying different orientations and all non-male or non-female gender identities not captured in the questionnaire options.