Last session, HCAC supported legislation that required the Department of Health Care Policy and Financing (HCPF) and the Division of Insurance (DOI) to develop and submit a proposal to the General Assembly concerning the implementation of a state option for health care coverage, HB19-1004.  

The final report, based on meetings with stakeholders from across the state and including extensive written public comments, was submitted in November 2019 with a preliminary actuarial analysis.  The final actuarial analysis will be completed in February 2020. 

HCAC supported the Health Care Cost Savings Act of 2019 that passed the Colorado Legislature last year with bipartisan support.  Several members of the HCAC board testified in front of committee in support of this legislation.  The bill allows for an analysis to compare how we would pay for different universal health care systems in Colorado.  The 15-member state task force, including bill sponsor Rep. Emily Sirota and author T. R. Reid have begun their work.  

In 2019, the Colorado Legislature passed HB19-1004, A Proposal For Affordable Health Coverage Option.  The result was a Health insurance Public Option proposal developed by the Colorado Division of Insurance and Colorado's Health Care Policy and Financing Department, which has been published along with significant public comment.

What does the Proposal look like?  What would have to happen to enact it?  What decisions are still left up to the state legislature this year as they review the proposal?

Denver Post, Letter To Editor

Re: “A public option could be costly for Coloradans”  December 10, 2019

HB19-1004 was well intentioned, as is the recently submitted proposal for implementation.  Health Care for All Colorado (HCAC)  thanks the sponsors of HB19-1004 for bringing this bill forward with the objective of providing more affordable health care coverage.  HCAC also appreciates the work of the HCPF and DOI in including stakeholders from across the state in developing the implementation proposal.

However, the Colorado Public Option Plan, like every other proposal other than Medicare-For-All, revolves around premiums, profits, and markets, the very factors that make our current system so expensive and incomplete.  If it does not fail entirely (like the vaunted co-ops of Obamacare) it will make only a small dent in the expense, complexity, and cruelty of our current system.

Judith Burke, RN
Secretary, Health Care for All Colorado

The goal of Health Care for All Colorado (HCAC) is to achieve universal, affordable, accessible, undeniable and portable health care for all Coloradans.  HCAC supported HB19-1004, A Proposal for Implementing a Competitive State Option for More Affordable Health Care Coverage.  HB19-1004 requires the Colorado Department of Health Care Policy & Financing (HCPF) and the Division of Insurance (DOI) to develop and submit a proposal concerning the design, costs, benefits, and implementation of a state option for health care coverage to Colorado’s General Assembly by November 15, 2019.

HCAC appreciates attempts to increase affordability, but, after review of the final report and recommendations, has concluded that the proposal is flawed in many ways as it...

Above: On July 30, 1965, President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the Medicare bill into law with former President Harry S. Truman at his side.  Photo credit: The Associated Press.

On this day fifty-four years ago, President Lyndon B. Johnson signed Medicare into law, guaranteeing millions of Americans over 65 health care who were previously left in the dark, unable to afford a private plan or who were solely dependent on the kindness of family, friends and neighbors. Fifty-four years later, Health Care for All Colorado and health care activists across the country are still fighting for Improve Medicare for All to guarantee that same right to all Americans.

Keynote speaker Wendell Potter. Photo by Darral Freund

Health Care for All Colorado was proud to sponsor The Colorado Foundation for Universal Health Care’s 4th Annual Universal Health Care Conference which took place on June 29th, 2019 at Pipefitters Union Hall.

With a fitting theme of “Think Universal, Act Local: Preparing the Colorado Movement for 2020” the conference included a keynote speech from Wendell Potter, a former corporate communications exec for Cigna.

After seeing one too many people taken advantage of by the industry he was paid to protect, Potter now works to debunk health care industry lies and awaken voters to wield their power. He shared powerful insights, which are also featured in his book, "Deadly Spin: An Insurance Company Insider Speaks Out on How Corporate PR Is Killing Health Care and Deceiving Americans,” A New York Times bestseller. For  those who missed the conference, you can view a Facebook Live recording of an interview with Potter at the event.

As the end of ACA sustainability looms on the horizon, you may be asking yourself, “What comes next?”

There are numerous proposals for versions of Medicare for All as well as several public option ideas.

How do they stack up, and how do they differ?

For a side-by-side, detailed comparison of what ideas are floating through the halls of Congress, click here:
Side-by-Side Comparison of Medicare-for-all and Public Plan Proposals Introduced in the 116th Congress (Kaiser Family Foundation)

What do you think?  Comment here...

On Wednesday, September 13, 2017, Senator Bernie Sanders releases the "Medicare for All Act of 2017."

READ THE FULL TEXT OF THE BILL HERE.

As we review the bill text, we will update this website with relevant news and information regarding this important step towards achieving health care for all in the United States.