Audit: State's health care exchange should pay back $9.7M

DENVER (AP) -- Federal auditors say Colorado should repay nearly $9.7 million for grants used to set up the state's health care exchange.

The Denver Post reports the audit by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services found that Connect for Health Colorado didn't sufficiently document how it spent about $4.4 million on contractors and consultants. It also says the exchange allocated $4.5 million from the grants to pre-pay for contracts that would run past the end of 2014, the time by which all grant money was supposed to be spent.

The audit looked at how the exchange spent $183.7 million it received from three federal grants to set up the program.

The exchange agrees with some of the audit's findings but disputes how much money it should have to pay back.