ENGLEWOOD, Colo.—A fifth health care reform plan being developed by a commission appointed by Gov. Bill Ritter resembles one started by Massachusetts last year and would require that people purchase insurance and prevent companies from rejecting sick applicants.
“We are still fleshing this out,” said William Lindsay, commission chairman, after eight hours of sometimes contentious debate Monday. “We do not have unanimity.”
A commission subcommittee working on the fifth proposal previously suggested providing subsidies to individuals and families to buy health insurance. As tentatively adopted by the 27-member commission, those without insurance would be penalized through a tax levy.
“The solution is not giving more money to the insurance companies,” said Mark Simon, an advocate for the disabled and former business owner on the panel. “So we are going to buy more insurance policies for people with taxpayer money? We haven’t made any real effort to address insurance reform.”
Four other plans proposed by the Blue Ribbon Commission for Health Care Reform include a $26 billion a year plan to provide health insurance to everyone in the state in a single-payer plan.
That plan would be administered like a public utility, with premiums charged through income taxes and payroll deductions.
Funding would come from several sources, including the federal government, federal income taxes and payroll taxes. It also would also require that the state income tax be nearly tripled from the current 4.6 percent.
Besides the single-payer plan, the commission is considering proposals that would:
— Provide a basic benefit package through a large insurance pool with a $50,000 cap on benefits. It would have no mandates.
— Require all Coloradans to have health insurance.
— Place mandates on individuals and employers to provide coverage or pay an assessment.
Commission members will examine the cost-and-benefits of all five plans and select one to recommend to the legislators.
