Democrats trying to avoid having a $3.1 billion budget-reform package labeled a “blank check” announced Tuesday how they intend to spend the money if voters approve the ballot measure in November.
The bulk of the cash would be used to pay for existing needs in education, health care and transportation.
But there are plans to create a new program to help reduce health-insurance costs to small businesses.
“I think that specifying where the dollars are going to go makes (the ballot measure’s passage) more likely,” said Democratic House Speaker Andrew Romanoff.
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COLORADO LEGISLATURE
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One planned bill will earmark funding for existing health-care programs such as doctor and hospital visits, prenatal care, immunizations and prescription drugs for the elderly, low-income and disabled.
It also would fund educational needs such as school libraries, textbooks and school breakfast and lunch programs, and help increase per-student funding and decrease class sizes in kindergarten through 12th grade. It also would increase financial aid for college students and hold down costs.
A range of road and bridge improvements will be ranked in order of importance this summer.
A second bill – Senate Bill 237, introduced Tuesday – would establish the Healthy Business Healthy People program.
It calls for using no more than $15 million annually to help businesses with 10 or fewer employees pay health-care costs.
To qualify, companies would need to have at least 30 percent of those workers making less than $28,000 a year.
The insurance program would cover 90 percent of the cost of workers’ health-care claims between $5,000 and $75,000. The change, Democrats estimate, will mean participating businesses will see a decline in premiums of between 25 percent and 40 percent.
Travis Berry, lobbyist for the Business Council for HealthCare Competition, said getting insurance coverage for more people will lower premium costs for everyone.
That’s because health-care providers shift some of the costs of caring for the uninsured to those who have insurance.
Berry and Vickie Agler, Colorado director of the National Federation of Independent Business, both raised concerns about helping companies that don’t provide insurance when their competitors do.
“For those that do, we ought to provide a pat on the back, not kick them,” Agler said.
Berry said the program could be designed to give preference to companies that provide insurance but have workers that can’t afford their portion of the premium.
Staff writer Chris Frates can be reached at 303-820-1633 or cfrates@denverpost.com.
