Studying What's Next for SHOP in California and Colorado

The project will consist of in-depth interviews with SHOP exchange officials, policymakers, public health experts and advocates, brokers, broker associations, and small business owners. In addition, the project team will conduct a broader survey of small business owners in California and Colorado. Business owners will be selected to represent a broad geographic cross-section of both states (urban, suburban, exurban and rural). Building on the 2015 report, this project will look at the factors that went into small firms’ decision-making on whether to participate in SHOP, and how the larger insurance market both influences the effectiveness and is being affected by the SHOP exchanges. The implementation insights and recommendations produced from the project will be important for policymakers working to increase SHOP enrollment, and will be applicable both within the specific states under study, and to exchanges in other states.