GiveBetter x Denver

Colorado Consumer Health Initiative

Medical-bill navigation and consumer health policy

Research time: ~1 min on GPT-6.1 Sol
  • Modeling — estimated costs, QALYs and uncertainty.
  • Source audit — checked claims, assumptions and calculations.

Updated: 2026-10-06

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Summary

What do they do? Free Consumer Assistance Program helps people contest bills, denied coverage and eligibility barriers; it does not pay their medical bills. The charity also advocates for consumer protection and implementation of Colorado health policy with agencies and coalitions. This historical numerical reference pairs FY2023 costs with 777 annual clients; it is not current productivity, cumulative bills saved or whole-policy expected value.

Why we’re interested in this organization:

  • Current recipient, free-service route and linked donation intake are identified.

  • Original three-year IRS costs are checked, including netted fundraising costs.

  • Actual cash avoidance and full provider/insurer incidence are distinguished from nominal charges written off.

Our main reservations:

  • The observed 777 annual clients are historical and not unique households or causal outcomes; current cohort, local share and utility remain uncertain.

  • Bills saved are not necessarily otherwise-paid consumption, and the counterparty can lose the same collectible cash.

  • Whole annual costs fund policy and organizing too; their implemented health and resource effects remain unmeasured rather than assumed zero.

What do you get for your dollar? $5.7M per DALY in Denver. DALY is our one-year comparison unit. QALY-based health gains and income-welfare equivalents retain their original assumptions; they are not measured clinical DALYs. Historical matched FY2023 full annual recipient cost against a partial assistance channel; current productivity and policy benefits unknown, not zero, and not a marginal-gift offer..

Original 2023 annual report states 777 clients and more than $2.0M nominal bill savings that year across 48 counties. Annual clients are not deduplicated households or incremental successes. Current and IRS cumulative counters are not annual outcomes.

1. What do they do?

CAP supports billing appeals and applications while policy work addresses affordability, coverage and consumer protections.

Current cumulative counters differ across the same page; neither is used as annual delivered cases.

2. Monitoring and information sharing

Seek annual unique clients, actual collected cash avoided, completed appeals and recipients inside the ten-county Denver boundary.

Measure implemented policy changes against agency obligations and alternatives, not only legislation or coalition participation.

3. Qualitative assessment

Self-appeals, legally required hospital assistance, insurers and other advocates form the counterfactual. Staffing limits can delay responses.

Historical Axis work in southwest Colorado is outside this edition; headquarters do not establish beneficiary geography.

4. What do you get for your dollar?

Matched FY2023 full annual cost is $1,536,690: functional expenses $1,523,080 plus $13,610 netted event costs. Latest FY2024 full cost is $1,801,425 and is a mismatched-vintage sensitivity.

The historical 2023 model uses 777 observed clients, judged 90% unique households, 50% Denver share and 40% additionality. A $2,000 nominal bill reduction × 25% otherwise-paid collection fraction implies $500 cash avoided, not medical retail value.

Positive gains receive a 50% overlap adjustment; $25 access costs and process harms apply to all exposed households. A full $500 provider/insurer loss per changed household is retained without overlap discount.

Policy implementation, attribution, finite duration and delay are missing causal inputs; they are not assigned statewide population benefits. Latest-cost and annual-mean scenarios are sensitivities, not CAP allocations or marginal costs.

Model, assumptions and sensitivity

Matched historical FY2023 full annual recipient cost against observed 777 assistance clients; latest FY2024 costs shown as mismatched-vintage sensitivity, not current productivity.

Judged 0.5 Denver beneficiary share within CBSA19740; statewide work and southwest Colorado pilot are not all local.

Health = (N × unique × b × eligible × completion × response × q × finite discounted duration − all-exposed process harm) × Denver share. Signed resources jointly log changed and other exposed households, with full distinct provider/insurer loss and geography once; price = 10 × C / combined equivalents.

C
1536690 USD annual (observed). Observed FY2023 original IRS functional expenses $1,523,080 plus $13,610 netted direct event costs, matched to 2023 annual client envelope. [finance-2023]
N
777 annual clients (historical 2023 envelope) (observed). Observed historical 2023 annual report envelope of 777 clients; unique households, local share and incremental outcomes remain judgments, not observed current clients. [annual]
unique
0.9 model parameter (judgment). Explicit conditional judgment, not a measured causal recipient coefficient; adverse and null scenarios test this assumption. [services] [cg-cost]
eligible
1 model parameter (judgment). Explicit conditional judgment, not a measured causal recipient coefficient; adverse and null scenarios test this assumption. [services] [cg-cost]
completion
1 model parameter (judgment). Explicit conditional judgment, not a measured causal recipient coefficient; adverse and null scenarios test this assumption. [services] [cg-cost]
b
0.4 model parameter (judgment). Explicit conditional judgment, not a measured causal recipient coefficient; adverse and null scenarios test this assumption. [services] [cg-cost]
response
0.3 model parameter (judgment). Explicit conditional judgment, not a measured causal recipient coefficient; adverse and null scenarios test this assumption. [services] [cg-cost]
q
0.01 model parameter (judgment). Explicit conditional judgment, not a measured causal recipient coefficient; adverse and null scenarios test this assumption. [services] [cg-cost]
T
1 model parameter (judgment). Explicit conditional judgment, not a measured causal recipient coefficient; adverse and null scenarios test this assumption. [services] [cg-cost]
g
0.5 model parameter (judgment). Explicit conditional judgment, not a measured causal recipient coefficient; adverse and null scenarios test this assumption. [services] [cg-cost]
delay
0.1 model parameter (judgment). Judged .1-year engagement start for both assistance effects and access resources; not immediate costs capitalized into later years. [services] [cg-cost]
r
0.03 model parameter (judgment). Explicit conditional judgment, not a measured causal recipient coefficient; adverse and null scenarios test this assumption. [services] [cg-cost]
harm
0.0001 model parameter (judgment). Explicit conditional judgment, not a measured causal recipient coefficient; adverse and null scenarios test this assumption. [services] [cg-cost]
success
0.6 model parameter (judgment). Explicit conditional judgment, not a measured causal recipient coefficient; adverse and null scenarios test this assumption. [services] [cg-cost]
workGain
0 model parameter (judgment). Explicit conditional judgment, not a measured causal recipient coefficient; adverse and null scenarios test this assumption. [services] [cg-cost]
medicalGain
500 model parameter (judgment). Judged otherwise-paid cash avoidance: $2,000 nominal charge reduction × .25 collectibility = $500; not gross write-off or medical retail value. [services] [cg-cost]
overlap
0.5 model parameter (judgment). Explicit conditional judgment, not a measured causal recipient coefficient; adverse and null scenarios test this assumption. [services] [cg-cost]
cost
25 model parameter (judgment). Judged $25 participation/access resource loss per all-exposed household, including unsuccessful cases. [services] [cg-cost]
baseline
20000 model parameter (judgment). Explicit conditional judgment, not a measured causal recipient coefficient; adverse and null scenarios test this assumption. [services] [cg-cost]
payerLoss
500 model parameter (judgment). Full same $500 actual collectible cash forgone by distinct provider/insurer counterparties per changed household; no positive overlap discount. [services] [cg-cost]
externalCost
0 model parameter (judgment). Explicit conditional judgment, not a measured causal recipient coefficient; adverse and null scenarios test this assumption. [services] [cg-cost]
payerPeople
10000 model parameter (judgment). Explicit conditional judgment, not a measured causal recipient coefficient; adverse and null scenarios test this assumption. [services] [cg-cost]
payerBaseline
50000 model parameter (judgment). Explicit conditional judgment, not a measured causal recipient coefficient; adverse and null scenarios test this assumption. [services] [cg-cost]

central: Cost: $1.5M; Denver health QALYs: 0.38; all-population health QALYs: 0.77. Income-equivalent healthy years: -0.12. Conditional finite medical-bill assistance reference using matched FY2023 full recipient cost and 777 observed annual clients; unique households and causal effects remain judgments; cumulativebillwriteoffs notnetcashbenefits, actualcollectionfraction/payerloss/localutilityjudged.

clinical null: Cost: $1.5M; Denver health QALYs: -0.03; all-population health QALYs: -0.07. Income-equivalent healthy years: -0.12. Conditional finite medical-bill assistance reference using matched FY2023 full recipient cost and 777 observed annual clients; unique households and causal effects remain judgments; cumulativebillwriteoffs notnetcashbenefits, actualcollectionfraction/payerloss/localutilityjudged.

financial only: Cost: $1.5M; Denver health QALYs: 0.00; all-population health QALYs: 0.00. Income-equivalent healthy years: -0.12. Conditional finite medical-bill assistance reference using matched FY2023 full recipient cost and 777 observed annual clients; unique households and causal effects remain judgments; cumulativebillwriteoffs notnetcashbenefits, actualcollectionfraction/payerloss/localutilityjudged.

zero benefit full burdens: Cost: $1.5M; Denver health QALYs: -0.03; all-population health QALYs: -0.07. Income-equivalent healthy years: -0.22. Conditional finite medical-bill assistance reference using matched FY2023 full recipient cost and 777 observed annual clients; unique households and causal effects remain judgments; cumulativebillwriteoffs notnetcashbenefits, actualcollectionfraction/payerloss/localutilityjudged.

no exposure: Cost: $1.5M; Denver health QALYs: 0.00; all-population health QALYs: 0.00. Income-equivalent healthy years: 0.00. Conditional finite medical-bill assistance reference using matched FY2023 full recipient cost and 777 observed annual clients; unique households and causal effects remain judgments; cumulativebillwriteoffs notnetcashbenefits, actualcollectionfraction/payerloss/localutilityjudged.

no gift no exposure: Cost: $0; Denver health QALYs: 0.00; all-population health QALYs: 0.00. Income-equivalent healthy years: 0.00. Conditional finite medical-bill assistance reference using matched FY2023 full recipient cost and 777 observed annual clients; unique households and causal effects remain judgments; cumulativebillwriteoffs notnetcashbenefits, actualcollectionfraction/payerloss/localutilityjudged.

adverse: Cost: $1.5M; Denver health QALYs: -2.58; all-population health QALYs: -5.16. Income-equivalent healthy years: -1.16. Conditional finite medical-bill assistance reference using matched FY2023 full recipient cost and 777 observed annual clients; unique households and causal effects remain judgments; cumulativebillwriteoffs notnetcashbenefits, actualcollectionfraction/payerloss/localutilityjudged.

unknown: Cost: unknown; Denver health QALYs: unknown; all-population health QALYs: unknown. Conditional finite medical-bill assistance reference using matched FY2023 full recipient cost and 777 observed annual clients; unique households and causal effects remain judgments; cumulativebillwriteoffs notnetcashbenefits, actualcollectionfraction/payerloss/localutilityjudged.

no recipient resources full payer loss: Cost: $1.5M; Denver health QALYs: 0.38; all-population health QALYs: 0.77. Income-equivalent healthy years: -0.64. Conditional finite medical-bill assistance reference using matched FY2023 full recipient cost and 777 observed annual clients; unique households and causal effects remain judgments; cumulativebillwriteoffs notnetcashbenefits, actualcollectionfraction/payerloss/localutilityjudged.

clinical response null: Cost: $1.5M; Denver health QALYs: -0.03; all-population health QALYs: -0.07. Income-equivalent healthy years: -0.12. Conditional finite medical-bill assistance reference using matched FY2023 full recipient cost and 777 observed annual clients; unique households and causal effects remain judgments; cumulativebillwriteoffs notnetcashbenefits, actualcollectionfraction/payerloss/localutilityjudged.

short health: Cost: $1.5M; Denver health QALYs: 0.07; all-population health QALYs: 0.14. Income-equivalent healthy years: -0.12. Conditional finite medical-bill assistance reference using matched FY2023 full recipient cost and 777 observed annual clients; unique households and causal effects remain judgments; cumulativebillwriteoffs notnetcashbenefits, actualcollectionfraction/payerloss/localutilityjudged.

one year health: Cost: $1.5M; Denver health QALYs: 0.38; all-population health QALYs: 0.77. Income-equivalent healthy years: -0.12. Conditional finite medical-bill assistance reference using matched FY2023 full recipient cost and 777 observed annual clients; unique households and causal effects remain judgments; cumulativebillwriteoffs notnetcashbenefits, actualcollectionfraction/payerloss/localutilityjudged.

low additionality: Cost: $1.5M; Denver health QALYs: 0.07; all-population health QALYs: 0.14. Income-equivalent healthy years: -0.19. Conditional finite medical-bill assistance reference using matched FY2023 full recipient cost and 777 observed annual clients; unique households and causal effects remain judgments; cumulativebillwriteoffs notnetcashbenefits, actualcollectionfraction/payerloss/localutilityjudged.

all additionality: Cost: $1.5M; Denver health QALYs: 1.01; all-population health QALYs: 2.02. Income-equivalent healthy years: 0.04. Conditional finite medical-bill assistance reference using matched FY2023 full recipient cost and 777 observed annual clients; unique households and causal effects remain judgments; cumulativebillwriteoffs notnetcashbenefits, actualcollectionfraction/payerloss/localutilityjudged.

half geography: Cost: $1.5M; Denver health QALYs: 0.38; all-population health QALYs: 0.77. Income-equivalent healthy years: -0.12. Conditional finite medical-bill assistance reference using matched FY2023 full recipient cost and 777 observed annual clients; unique households and causal effects remain judgments; cumulativebillwriteoffs notnetcashbenefits, actualcollectionfraction/payerloss/localutilityjudged.

no local share: Cost: $1.5M; Denver health QALYs: 0.00; all-population health QALYs: 0.00. Income-equivalent healthy years: 0.00. Conditional finite medical-bill assistance reference using matched FY2023 full recipient cost and 777 observed annual clients; unique households and causal effects remain judgments; cumulativebillwriteoffs notnetcashbenefits, actualcollectionfraction/payerloss/localutilityjudged.

no positive overlap: Cost: $1.5M; Denver health QALYs: 0.38; all-population health QALYs: 0.77. Income-equivalent healthy years: -0.64. Conditional finite medical-bill assistance reference using matched FY2023 full recipient cost and 777 observed annual clients; unique households and causal effects remain judgments; cumulativebillwriteoffs notnetcashbenefits, actualcollectionfraction/payerloss/localutilityjudged.

full positive overlap: Cost: $1.5M; Denver health QALYs: 0.38; all-population health QALYs: 0.77. Income-equivalent healthy years: 0.40. Conditional finite medical-bill assistance reference using matched FY2023 full recipient cost and 777 observed annual clients; unique households and causal effects remain judgments; cumulativebillwriteoffs notnetcashbenefits, actualcollectionfraction/payerloss/localutilityjudged.

negative overlap zero: Cost: $1.5M; Denver health QALYs: 0.38; all-population health QALYs: 0.77. Income-equivalent healthy years: -1.70. Conditional finite medical-bill assistance reference using matched FY2023 full recipient cost and 777 observed annual clients; unique households and causal effects remain judgments; cumulativebillwriteoffs notnetcashbenefits, actualcollectionfraction/payerloss/localutilityjudged.

negative overlap one: Cost: $1.5M; Denver health QALYs: 0.38; all-population health QALYs: 0.77. Income-equivalent healthy years: -0.64. Conditional finite medical-bill assistance reference using matched FY2023 full recipient cost and 777 observed annual clients; unique households and causal effects remain judgments; cumulativebillwriteoffs notnetcashbenefits, actualcollectionfraction/payerloss/localutilityjudged.

mixed resources: Cost: $1.5M; Denver health QALYs: 0.38; all-population health QALYs: 0.77. Income-equivalent healthy years: -0.95. Conditional finite medical-bill assistance reference using matched FY2023 full recipient cost and 777 observed annual clients; unique households and causal effects remain judgments; cumulativebillwriteoffs notnetcashbenefits, actualcollectionfraction/payerloss/localutilityjudged.

no access cost: Cost: $1.5M; Denver health QALYs: 0.38; all-population health QALYs: 0.77. Income-equivalent healthy years: 0.10. Conditional finite medical-bill assistance reference using matched FY2023 full recipient cost and 777 observed annual clients; unique households and causal effects remain judgments; cumulativebillwriteoffs notnetcashbenefits, actualcollectionfraction/payerloss/localutilityjudged.

high access cost: Cost: $1.5M; Denver health QALYs: 0.38; all-population health QALYs: 0.77. Income-equivalent healthy years: -1.65. Conditional finite medical-bill assistance reference using matched FY2023 full recipient cost and 777 observed annual clients; unique households and causal effects remain judgments; cumulativebillwriteoffs notnetcashbenefits, actualcollectionfraction/payerloss/localutilityjudged.

higher payer incidence: Cost: $1.5M; Denver health QALYs: 0.38; all-population health QALYs: 0.77. Income-equivalent healthy years: -3.05. Conditional finite medical-bill assistance reference using matched FY2023 full recipient cost and 777 observed annual clients; unique households and causal effects remain judgments; cumulativebillwriteoffs notnetcashbenefits, actualcollectionfraction/payerloss/localutilityjudged.

external care cost: Cost: $1.5M; Denver health QALYs: 0.38; all-population health QALYs: 0.77. Income-equivalent healthy years: -0.46. Conditional finite medical-bill assistance reference using matched FY2023 full recipient cost and 777 observed annual clients; unique households and causal effects remain judgments; cumulativebillwriteoffs notnetcashbenefits, actualcollectionfraction/payerloss/localutilityjudged.

double cost: Cost: $3.1M; Denver health QALYs: 0.38; all-population health QALYs: 0.77. Income-equivalent healthy years: -0.12. Conditional finite medical-bill assistance reference using matched FY2023 full recipient cost and 777 observed annual clients; unique households and causal effects remain judgments; cumulativebillwriteoffs notnetcashbenefits, actualcollectionfraction/payerloss/localutilityjudged.

latest FY2024 cost mismatched vintage: Cost: $1.8M; Denver health QALYs: 0.38; all-population health QALYs: 0.77. Income-equivalent healthy years: -0.12. Conditional finite medical-bill assistance reference using matched FY2023 full recipient cost and 777 observed annual clients; unique households and causal effects remain judgments; cumulativebillwriteoffs notnetcashbenefits, actualcollectionfraction/payerloss/localutilityjudged.

half cohort: Cost: $1.5M; Denver health QALYs: 0.19; all-population health QALYs: 0.38. Income-equivalent healthy years: -0.06. Conditional finite medical-bill assistance reference using matched FY2023 full recipient cost and 777 observed annual clients; unique households and causal effects remain judgments; cumulativebillwriteoffs notnetcashbenefits, actualcollectionfraction/payerloss/localutilityjudged.

undated growth envelope: Cost: $1.5M; Denver health QALYs: 0.99; all-population health QALYs: 1.97. Income-equivalent healthy years: -0.30. Conditional finite medical-bill assistance reference using matched FY2023 full recipient cost and 777 observed annual clients; unique households and causal effects remain judgments; cumulativebillwriteoffs notnetcashbenefits, actualcollectionfraction/payerloss/localutilityjudged.

household deduplication: Cost: $1.5M; Denver health QALYs: 0.30; all-population health QALYs: 0.60. Income-equivalent healthy years: -0.09. Conditional finite medical-bill assistance reference using matched FY2023 full recipient cost and 777 observed annual clients; unique households and causal effects remain judgments; cumulativebillwriteoffs notnetcashbenefits, actualcollectionfraction/payerloss/localutilityjudged.

no net work gain: Cost: $1.5M; Denver health QALYs: 0.38; all-population health QALYs: 0.77. Income-equivalent healthy years: -0.12. Conditional finite medical-bill assistance reference using matched FY2023 full recipient cost and 777 observed annual clients; unique households and causal effects remain judgments; cumulativebillwriteoffs notnetcashbenefits, actualcollectionfraction/payerloss/localutilityjudged.

higher actually paid collection: Cost: $1.5M; Denver health QALYs: 0.38; all-population health QALYs: 0.77. Income-equivalent healthy years: -0.02. Conditional finite medical-bill assistance reference using matched FY2023 full recipient cost and 777 observed annual clients; unique households and causal effects remain judgments; cumulativebillwriteoffs notnetcashbenefits, actualcollectionfraction/payerloss/localutilityjudged.

no eligible subgroup: Cost: $1.5M; Denver health QALYs: -0.03; all-population health QALYs: -0.07. Income-equivalent healthy years: -0.12. Conditional finite medical-bill assistance reference using matched FY2023 full recipient cost and 777 observed annual clients; unique households and causal effects remain judgments; cumulativebillwriteoffs notnetcashbenefits, actualcollectionfraction/payerloss/localutilityjudged.

no completed dose: Cost: $1.5M; Denver health QALYs: -0.03; all-population health QALYs: -0.07. Income-equivalent healthy years: -0.12. Conditional finite medical-bill assistance reference using matched FY2023 full recipient cost and 777 observed annual clients; unique households and causal effects remain judgments; cumulativebillwriteoffs notnetcashbenefits, actualcollectionfraction/payerloss/localutilityjudged.

low health access response: Cost: $1.5M; Denver health QALYs: 0.03; all-population health QALYs: 0.07. Income-equivalent healthy years: -0.12. Conditional finite medical-bill assistance reference using matched FY2023 full recipient cost and 777 observed annual clients; unique households and causal effects remain judgments; cumulativebillwriteoffs notnetcashbenefits, actualcollectionfraction/payerloss/localutilityjudged.

public transfer null: Cost: $1.5M; Denver health QALYs: 0.38; all-population health QALYs: 0.77. Income-equivalent healthy years: -0.22. Conditional finite medical-bill assistance reference using matched FY2023 full recipient cost and 777 observed annual clients; unique households and causal effects remain judgments; cumulativebillwriteoffs notnetcashbenefits, actualcollectionfraction/payerloss/localutilityjudged.

withdrawal and fees: Cost: $1.5M; Denver health QALYs: 0.38; all-population health QALYs: 0.77. Income-equivalent healthy years: -1.28. Conditional finite medical-bill assistance reference using matched FY2023 full recipient cost and 777 observed annual clients; unique households and causal effects remain judgments; cumulativebillwriteoffs notnetcashbenefits, actualcollectionfraction/payerloss/localutilityjudged.

three full year mean cost: Cost: $1.6M; Denver health QALYs: 0.38; all-population health QALYs: 0.77. Income-equivalent healthy years: -0.12. Conditional finite medical-bill assistance reference using matched FY2023 full recipient cost and 777 observed annual clients; unique households and causal effects remain judgments; cumulativebillwriteoffs notnetcashbenefits, actualcollectionfraction/payerloss/localutilityjudged.

no otherwise paid collection: Cost: $1.5M; Denver health QALYs: 0.38; all-population health QALYs: 0.77. Income-equivalent healthy years: -0.22. Conditional finite medical-bill assistance reference using matched FY2023 full recipient cost and 777 observed annual clients; unique households and causal effects remain judgments; cumulativebillwriteoffs notnetcashbenefits, actualcollectionfraction/payerloss/localutilityjudged.

lower otherwise paid collection: Cost: $1.5M; Denver health QALYs: 0.38; all-population health QALYs: 0.77. Income-equivalent healthy years: -0.20. Conditional finite medical-bill assistance reference using matched FY2023 full recipient cost and 777 observed annual clients; unique households and causal effects remain judgments; cumulativebillwriteoffs notnetcashbenefits, actualcollectionfraction/payerloss/localutilityjudged.

Counterfactual: Mandated hospital assistance, public eligibility, insurers, self-appeals, other navigators and agency implementation would continue without CCHI.

Attribution: b=.4 and successful cash recovery=.6 are conditional judgments, not local trial estimates. Wider policy implementation and causal contribution remain unknown.

Annual unique cohort, collectibility, utility, local share and policy effects are not empirically calibrated; null, adverse, payer and cost-boundary scenarios expose this.

Sensitivity

  • clinical null: no finite positive estimate. Conditional finite medical-bill assistance reference using matched FY2023 full recipient cost and 777 observed annual clients; unique households and causal effects remain judgments; cumulativebillwriteoffs notnetcashbenefits, actualcollectionfraction/payerloss/localutilityjudged.
  • financial only: no finite positive estimate. Conditional finite medical-bill assistance reference using matched FY2023 full recipient cost and 777 observed annual clients; unique households and causal effects remain judgments; cumulativebillwriteoffs notnetcashbenefits, actualcollectionfraction/payerloss/localutilityjudged.
  • zero benefit full burdens: no finite positive estimate. Conditional finite medical-bill assistance reference using matched FY2023 full recipient cost and 777 observed annual clients; unique households and causal effects remain judgments; cumulativebillwriteoffs notnetcashbenefits, actualcollectionfraction/payerloss/localutilityjudged.
  • no exposure: no finite positive estimate. Conditional finite medical-bill assistance reference using matched FY2023 full recipient cost and 777 observed annual clients; unique households and causal effects remain judgments; cumulativebillwriteoffs notnetcashbenefits, actualcollectionfraction/payerloss/localutilityjudged.
  • no gift no exposure: no finite positive estimate. Conditional finite medical-bill assistance reference using matched FY2023 full recipient cost and 777 observed annual clients; unique households and causal effects remain judgments; cumulativebillwriteoffs notnetcashbenefits, actualcollectionfraction/payerloss/localutilityjudged.
  • adverse: no finite positive estimate. Conditional finite medical-bill assistance reference using matched FY2023 full recipient cost and 777 observed annual clients; unique households and causal effects remain judgments; cumulativebillwriteoffs notnetcashbenefits, actualcollectionfraction/payerloss/localutilityjudged.
  • unknown: no finite positive estimate. Conditional finite medical-bill assistance reference using matched FY2023 full recipient cost and 777 observed annual clients; unique households and causal effects remain judgments; cumulativebillwriteoffs notnetcashbenefits, actualcollectionfraction/payerloss/localutilityjudged.
  • no recipient resources full payer loss: no finite positive estimate. Conditional finite medical-bill assistance reference using matched FY2023 full recipient cost and 777 observed annual clients; unique households and causal effects remain judgments; cumulativebillwriteoffs notnetcashbenefits, actualcollectionfraction/payerloss/localutilityjudged.
  • clinical response null: no finite positive estimate. Conditional finite medical-bill assistance reference using matched FY2023 full recipient cost and 777 observed annual clients; unique households and causal effects remain judgments; cumulativebillwriteoffs notnetcashbenefits, actualcollectionfraction/payerloss/localutilityjudged.
  • short health: no finite positive estimate. Conditional finite medical-bill assistance reference using matched FY2023 full recipient cost and 777 observed annual clients; unique households and causal effects remain judgments; cumulativebillwriteoffs notnetcashbenefits, actualcollectionfraction/payerloss/localutilityjudged.
  • one year health: $5.7M per DALY. Conditional finite medical-bill assistance reference using matched FY2023 full recipient cost and 777 observed annual clients; unique households and causal effects remain judgments; cumulativebillwriteoffs notnetcashbenefits, actualcollectionfraction/payerloss/localutilityjudged.
  • low additionality: no finite positive estimate. Conditional finite medical-bill assistance reference using matched FY2023 full recipient cost and 777 observed annual clients; unique households and causal effects remain judgments; cumulativebillwriteoffs notnetcashbenefits, actualcollectionfraction/payerloss/localutilityjudged.
  • all additionality: $1.5M per DALY. Conditional finite medical-bill assistance reference using matched FY2023 full recipient cost and 777 observed annual clients; unique households and causal effects remain judgments; cumulativebillwriteoffs notnetcashbenefits, actualcollectionfraction/payerloss/localutilityjudged.
  • half geography: $5.7M per DALY. Conditional finite medical-bill assistance reference using matched FY2023 full recipient cost and 777 observed annual clients; unique households and causal effects remain judgments; cumulativebillwriteoffs notnetcashbenefits, actualcollectionfraction/payerloss/localutilityjudged.
  • no local share: no finite positive estimate. Conditional finite medical-bill assistance reference using matched FY2023 full recipient cost and 777 observed annual clients; unique households and causal effects remain judgments; cumulativebillwriteoffs notnetcashbenefits, actualcollectionfraction/payerloss/localutilityjudged.
  • no positive overlap: no finite positive estimate. Conditional finite medical-bill assistance reference using matched FY2023 full recipient cost and 777 observed annual clients; unique households and causal effects remain judgments; cumulativebillwriteoffs notnetcashbenefits, actualcollectionfraction/payerloss/localutilityjudged.
  • full positive overlap: $2.0M per DALY. Conditional finite medical-bill assistance reference using matched FY2023 full recipient cost and 777 observed annual clients; unique households and causal effects remain judgments; cumulativebillwriteoffs notnetcashbenefits, actualcollectionfraction/payerloss/localutilityjudged.
  • negative overlap zero: no finite positive estimate. Conditional finite medical-bill assistance reference using matched FY2023 full recipient cost and 777 observed annual clients; unique households and causal effects remain judgments; cumulativebillwriteoffs notnetcashbenefits, actualcollectionfraction/payerloss/localutilityjudged.
  • negative overlap one: no finite positive estimate. Conditional finite medical-bill assistance reference using matched FY2023 full recipient cost and 777 observed annual clients; unique households and causal effects remain judgments; cumulativebillwriteoffs notnetcashbenefits, actualcollectionfraction/payerloss/localutilityjudged.
  • mixed resources: no finite positive estimate. Conditional finite medical-bill assistance reference using matched FY2023 full recipient cost and 777 observed annual clients; unique households and causal effects remain judgments; cumulativebillwriteoffs notnetcashbenefits, actualcollectionfraction/payerloss/localutilityjudged.
  • no access cost: $3.2M per DALY. Conditional finite medical-bill assistance reference using matched FY2023 full recipient cost and 777 observed annual clients; unique households and causal effects remain judgments; cumulativebillwriteoffs notnetcashbenefits, actualcollectionfraction/payerloss/localutilityjudged.
  • high access cost: no finite positive estimate. Conditional finite medical-bill assistance reference using matched FY2023 full recipient cost and 777 observed annual clients; unique households and causal effects remain judgments; cumulativebillwriteoffs notnetcashbenefits, actualcollectionfraction/payerloss/localutilityjudged.
  • higher payer incidence: no finite positive estimate. Conditional finite medical-bill assistance reference using matched FY2023 full recipient cost and 777 observed annual clients; unique households and causal effects remain judgments; cumulativebillwriteoffs notnetcashbenefits, actualcollectionfraction/payerloss/localutilityjudged.
  • external care cost: no finite positive estimate. Conditional finite medical-bill assistance reference using matched FY2023 full recipient cost and 777 observed annual clients; unique households and causal effects remain judgments; cumulativebillwriteoffs notnetcashbenefits, actualcollectionfraction/payerloss/localutilityjudged.
  • double cost: $11.5M per DALY. Conditional finite medical-bill assistance reference using matched FY2023 full recipient cost and 777 observed annual clients; unique households and causal effects remain judgments; cumulativebillwriteoffs notnetcashbenefits, actualcollectionfraction/payerloss/localutilityjudged.
  • latest FY2024 cost mismatched vintage: $6.7M per DALY. Conditional finite medical-bill assistance reference using matched FY2023 full recipient cost and 777 observed annual clients; unique households and causal effects remain judgments; cumulativebillwriteoffs notnetcashbenefits, actualcollectionfraction/payerloss/localutilityjudged.
  • half cohort: $11.5M per DALY. Conditional finite medical-bill assistance reference using matched FY2023 full recipient cost and 777 observed annual clients; unique households and causal effects remain judgments; cumulativebillwriteoffs notnetcashbenefits, actualcollectionfraction/payerloss/localutilityjudged.
  • undated growth envelope: $2.2M per DALY. Conditional finite medical-bill assistance reference using matched FY2023 full recipient cost and 777 observed annual clients; unique households and causal effects remain judgments; cumulativebillwriteoffs notnetcashbenefits, actualcollectionfraction/payerloss/localutilityjudged.
  • household deduplication: $7.4M per DALY. Conditional finite medical-bill assistance reference using matched FY2023 full recipient cost and 777 observed annual clients; unique households and causal effects remain judgments; cumulativebillwriteoffs notnetcashbenefits, actualcollectionfraction/payerloss/localutilityjudged.
  • no net work gain: $5.7M per DALY. Conditional finite medical-bill assistance reference using matched FY2023 full recipient cost and 777 observed annual clients; unique households and causal effects remain judgments; cumulativebillwriteoffs notnetcashbenefits, actualcollectionfraction/payerloss/localutilityjudged.
  • higher actually paid collection: $4.2M per DALY. Conditional finite medical-bill assistance reference using matched FY2023 full recipient cost and 777 observed annual clients; unique households and causal effects remain judgments; cumulativebillwriteoffs notnetcashbenefits, actualcollectionfraction/payerloss/localutilityjudged.
  • no eligible subgroup: no finite positive estimate. Conditional finite medical-bill assistance reference using matched FY2023 full recipient cost and 777 observed annual clients; unique households and causal effects remain judgments; cumulativebillwriteoffs notnetcashbenefits, actualcollectionfraction/payerloss/localutilityjudged.
  • no completed dose: no finite positive estimate. Conditional finite medical-bill assistance reference using matched FY2023 full recipient cost and 777 observed annual clients; unique households and causal effects remain judgments; cumulativebillwriteoffs notnetcashbenefits, actualcollectionfraction/payerloss/localutilityjudged.
  • low health access response: no finite positive estimate. Conditional finite medical-bill assistance reference using matched FY2023 full recipient cost and 777 observed annual clients; unique households and causal effects remain judgments; cumulativebillwriteoffs notnetcashbenefits, actualcollectionfraction/payerloss/localutilityjudged.
  • public transfer null: $9.3M per DALY. Conditional finite medical-bill assistance reference using matched FY2023 full recipient cost and 777 observed annual clients; unique households and causal effects remain judgments; cumulativebillwriteoffs notnetcashbenefits, actualcollectionfraction/payerloss/localutilityjudged.
  • withdrawal and fees: no finite positive estimate. Conditional finite medical-bill assistance reference using matched FY2023 full recipient cost and 777 observed annual clients; unique households and causal effects remain judgments; cumulativebillwriteoffs notnetcashbenefits, actualcollectionfraction/payerloss/localutilityjudged.
  • three full year mean cost: $6.1M per DALY. Conditional finite medical-bill assistance reference using matched FY2023 full recipient cost and 777 observed annual clients; unique households and causal effects remain judgments; cumulativebillwriteoffs notnetcashbenefits, actualcollectionfraction/payerloss/localutilityjudged.
  • no otherwise paid collection: $9.3M per DALY. Conditional finite medical-bill assistance reference using matched FY2023 full recipient cost and 777 observed annual clients; unique households and causal effects remain judgments; cumulativebillwriteoffs notnetcashbenefits, actualcollectionfraction/payerloss/localutilityjudged.
  • lower otherwise paid collection: $8.2M per DALY. Conditional finite medical-bill assistance reference using matched FY2023 full recipient cost and 777 observed annual clients; unique households and causal effects remain judgments; cumulativebillwriteoffs notnetcashbenefits, actualcollectionfraction/payerloss/localutilityjudged.

Unresolved inputs

  • Unique current annual clients and household overlap
  • Collectible cash avoided versus nominal debt reductions
  • Local causal clinical utility and income effects
  • Implemented policy exposure/population and recipient attribution
  • Current marginal capacity and allocated CAP costs

Health and income breakdown

For the modeled $1.5M: 0.38 health QALYs + -0.12 income-equivalent healthy years in Denver: $5.7M per DALY. Income equivalents are welfare comparisons, not observed QALYs or DALYs.

Method and caveats.

5. Funding and previous grants

Own donation page links a working EveryAction intake; no transaction was made. Free CAP access is not conditional on giving.

Current grants or appeals do not prove capacity to convert the next unrestricted dollar into incremental completed assistance.

Annual expenses

Organization-level spending, including programs, administration and fundraising. The research list averages three comparable, consecutive full fiscal years when available.

  • FY 2024: $1.8M; org:colorado-consumer-health, 12-month period, IRS full functional expenses plus netted direct event expenses. Source
  • FY 2023: $1.5M; org:colorado-consumer-health, 12-month period, IRS full functional expenses plus netted direct event expenses. Source
  • FY 2022: $1.5M; org:colorado-consumer-health, 12-month period, IRS full functional expenses plus netted direct event expenses. Source

6. Sources

  1. Current CAP assistance and cumulative counters. Colorado Consumer Health Initiative. Published: not stated; retrieved: 2026-10-06.
  2. Current policy and agency implementation priorities. Colorado Consumer Health Initiative. Published: not stated; retrieved: 2026-10-06.
  3. Recipient donation page and linked EveryAction route. Colorado Consumer Health Initiative. Published: not stated; retrieved: 2026-10-06.
  4. FY2024 original IRS full filing. IRS original filing. Published: not stated; retrieved: 2026-10-06.
  5. FY2023 original IRS full filing. IRS original filing. Published: not stated; retrieved: 2026-10-06.
  6. FY2022 original IRS full filing. IRS original filing. Published: not stated; retrieved: 2026-10-06.
  7. Health and income cost-effectiveness framework. Coefficient Giving. Published: not stated; retrieved: 2026-10-06.
  8. Original 2023 annual report: 777 clients and more than $2.0M nominal savings. Colorado Consumer Health Initiative. Published: not stated; retrieved: 2026-10-06.