AURORA, Colo.-
Colorado’s health care system is broken and universal health care should be the fix, patients, health advocates and others told a commission Thursday.
About 60 people attended the forum on the Fitzsimons campus of the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center. It was the first of several hearings by the Blue Ribbon Commission for Healthcare Reform.
The commission, created by the Legislature last year, will make recommendations by November on reforming the state’s health care system.
Some of the speakers talked about their health care problems, including a burst appendix that resulted in a $37,000 hospital bill. Others noted that one in seven Colorado children don’t have access to health care, enough to fill 3,200 school buses.
Some people said universal insurance coverage is the only answer and that health care should be financed the same way the state finances highways. Others stopped short of demanding universal health care but said coverage should be available to all children and disabled Coloradans.
Only one speaker disagreed that the system is broken and advocated consumer responsibility be among the commission’s stated priorities.
Despite differing opinions, members of the crowd said they were happy to have a forum to express their concerns and suggest solutions.
“It’s an important process for the future of health care for the community,” said Gregg Fanselau, a manager at the Platte Valley Medical Center in Brighton.
