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The Health Care for All Colorado board has voted to oppose HB 09-1358,
a bill that Rep. Joe Rice introduced yesterday. The House Business
Affairs and Labor committee will hear the bill tomorrow (Wednesday,
April 22) in committee. Please call and email the members of the
committee to let them know that you oppose the bill.
Briefly,
HB1358 is an insurance mandate. The bill is built upon the framework
of HB1273, but instead of universal health care using a single-payer
mechanism, the bill mandates that all Coloradans purchase insurance and
then penalizes those who don't. The bill also includes
single-payer-like mechanisms for preventive and catastrophic care.
Here are specific reasons that HCAC is unable to support HB09-1358.
1. Increased reliance on for-profit insurance will increase the cost of health care in Colorado.
2. Colorado should not mandate the purchase of for-profit insurance.
3.
Colorado should not penalize those who do not purchase for-profit
insurance with fines, loss of driving privileges, and compulsory
community service.
4. Colorado cannot afford to subsidize the purchase of for-profit insurance.
5. Mandating the purchase of minimum benefits plans will increase the number of people in the state who are under-insured.
6.
In Massachusetts, state subsidy of compulsory health insurance has
taken money from the safety net resulting in the closure of Community
Health Centers and a Public Hospital. We cannot allow that to happen
in Colorado.
7.
For profit-insurers under this plan will increase the cost of claims by
pushing those claims to either the preventive or catastrophic tiers.
Please
contact the members of the House Business Affairs and Labor and ask
them to vote against the bill on Wednesday in committee. Please note
that Rep. Joe Rice, the sponsor of HB 1358, is the chair of the
committee.
House Business Affairs and Labor Committee
Please click on the following link to send email to the entire committee except for the chair. (Note that this link may not work in some browsers.)
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