By Quentin Young | editor
“We have been hearing a lot about Affordable Care Act and Medicaid cuts … Now add a 9% increase in what workers with employer coverage paid toward family premiums in 2026 to the reasons voters are so concerned about their health care costs.”
— Drew Altman, KFF president and CEO
The price health insurance companies charge for employer-sponsored plans increased again this year, according to a survey by KFF. (Photo by krisanapong detraphiphat/Getty Images)
By Jennifer Shutt
The price health insurance companies charge for employer-sponsored plans increased again this year, as did the deductible many people must pay before those plans begin covering most healthcare costs, according to a survey released Thursday by the nonpartisan health organization KFF. The cost of individual health insurance plans rose to $9,804 on average, while family coverage reached $28,303. Both represented a 5% increase over the last year.
The Colorado Capitol is pictured on the opening day of the Colorado Legislature, Jan. 14, 2026. (Photo by Lindsey Toomer/Colorado Newsline)
By Sara Wilson
Outside partisan groups are spending millions of dollars this election cycle on competitive statehouse races in Colorado, and in some instances that spending is far greater than what the candidates themselves are putting up. Democrats will almost certainly retain the majority in both the state House and Senate, but the question in November is whether they can secure a two-thirds supermajority, allowing them to override vetoes and put constitutional amendments on the ballot without Republican support. They are one seat shy in each chamber.
A view from inside a Waymo driving south on Broadway in downtown Denver on Sept. 7, 2026. (Photo by Quentin Young/Colorado Newsline)
COMMENTARY
By Quentin Young
Last month, a Waymo drove down a road in Denver that was closed for a farmers market. The incident was not the only time since the beginning of September when Waymo started operating in Denver that its cars have performed in a way that might have earned a fine for a human driver. But Colorado law does not account for misbehaved autonomous vehicles, and local police have no way to issue tickets when the cars violate traffic laws. That’s got to change.
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
Colorado priest from Uganda released after 13 months in ICE detention in Aurora | By Lindsey Toomer
Commentary: State’s inaction leaves Colorado communities vulnerable to data center harms | By Rhiannon Redinger
Early voting in Colorado outpaces 2022 midterm election | By Lindsey Toomer
Audit finds flaws with Colorado’s marijuana testing framework| By Sara Wilson
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