SB25-045

On Wednesday, May 14, Governor Jared Polis signed SB25-045, a landmark bill requiring the Colorado School of Public Health to analyze draft model legislation for implementing a single-payer, nonprofit, publicly financed, and privately delivered universal health-care payment system for Colorado that directly compensates providers.  The report detailing their findings is to be submitted to the general assembly by December 31, 2026.

This year marked the third session in which the bill was introduced, receiving considerable support in two prior sessions but "dying on the vine" due to legislative calendar restrictions.  Bill sponsors, including Senator Marchman, Representative McCormick, and Representative Boesenecker, were determined not to let that happen a third time.

Governor Polis poses with HCAC Board Members, Kavya Ganuthula, Dondi Reyes, and Nathan Wilkes

Reflecting on the state of health care in Colorado, Governor Polis remarked, "I'm excited about this bill.... We spend twice as much and we have worse outcomes than most of the rest of the industrialized world. So, we are not getting a good deal for our health or for our pocketbooks. Colorado is no exception to that.... Fundamentally, I think there's the opportunity to do this better, and of course, this maintains -- and this is consistent with my viewpoints -- private delivery.  But we can do better by larger risk pooling and we'll be able to do this right."