March 4, 2015

Disasters keep alumna Jo Donlin busy at Division of Insurance

By Diane Carman | CU Denver

Jo Donlin, MPA ’96, director of external affairs for the Colorado Division of Insurance

First came the fires, then the floods and finally the health insurance exchange. For Jo Donlin, MPA ’96, director of external affairs for the Colorado Division of Insurance, it has been a whirlwind couple of years.

“Our mission is consumer protection,” Donlin says. “We want to make sure that the insurance carriers and their licensed agents follow all state laws and regulations, and that the companies remain solvent so they can pay the claims. We also help answer consumer questions and investigate their complaints to ensure they receive the benefits for which they pay.”

So when the fires and floods occurred in 2013, the workload grew exponentially. Then the health exchange launched on Oct. 1, 2013, and the workload exploded. Donlin says the agency actually has been working on implementation of the Affordable Care Act for three years.

 “We regulate the whole health insurance market,” she says, “not just the plans sold in our state exchange, Connect for Health Colorado.” The agency approves all the plans being sold, their benefit structures and premium rates, and has started an outreach effort to help educate consumers about the changes.

“We want them to make better decisions and be better prepared when they need insurance the most,” Donlin says. One of the big challenges with the Affordable Care Act is to teach people who have never had health insurance  how to use it. “We’re saying to people, ‘We can help you figure it out,’” she says. “We can also help you if your carrier doesn’t meet your expectations. We recover millions of dollars for consumers each year.”

The division is collaborating with several high-profile organizations to get the word out. It is working with the 9Health Fair, among other groups, to deliver its message to as large an audience as possible.

In addition to managing public outreach, Donlin is the agency’s main contact with the Colorado Legislature. She develops and coordinates legislative initiatives and does policy research and analysis.

Donlin says she “caught the legislative bug” when she was at Colorado College as an undergraduate. She worked as an intern for the chairman of the Joint Appropriations Committee of the Wyoming Legislature and loved the work. “Boy, did it shape my future.” After graduation, she suffered

a spinal cord injury and went home to recover. In 1993, she enrolled in the MPA program at the School of Public Affairs. “I really enjoyed my classes in ethics and the policy process,” she says. In 2008, she was hired for her job at the Division of Insurance.

Donlin, who has been a quadriplegic and used a motorized wheelchair since her injury in 1990, says it “gives me a different lens through which I view the world.” For one thing, she says she understands the importance of having access to health insurance. “At 19, 20, 21, you think you’re invincible. I know I did. But I had health insurance, and thank goodness I did.”

Donlin says her injury has created plenty of challenges along the way, but it also has given her a heightened awareness of the importance of com- munity service. “I really do think that giving back to the people who have helped me so much is important.”

Donlin is a member of the School of Public Affairs Advisory Board and is active in her church’s health and wellness ministry. She also has served on the board of Craig Hospital and continues to volunteer in various capacities.

“A lot of people in my physical condition don’t have the opportunities I’ve had. I’ve worked extremely hard to make things happen, and I’m thrilled I’ve been able to do it,” she says. “I’m really blessed.”