Private exchanges offer new health option

ESTES PARK – The Estes Park School District is among the first organizations in the region to make use of a private health-care exchange, an insurance-buying vehicle that pairs a decades-old concept with new technology to save time and money, and give employees more choice.

The exchange operates similarly to the state’s public health-insurance exchange, Connect for Health Colorado. Employees of Estes Park School District can go online and choose the plan that’s right for them.

The Estes Park district used the Denver-based insurance brokerage HUB International to set up its program. Its exchange offers far fewer options than the public exchange,…