A health care proposal that requires all Coloradans to buy their own health insurance would cover nearly 89 percent of the state’s 790,000 uninsured – but would need the state to come up with $1.4 billion in funding.
That was the initial evaluation of the proposal drafted by the state’s blue-ribbon health care reform commission.
“This is just the initial iteration, and there are going to be some pretty significant changes,” said Bill Lindsay, chairman of the commission.
The 27-member panel, also called the 208 Commission, was created by the state legislature last year to come up with five concepts for lowering the cost of health care here, in part by getting more of the state’s uninsured people covered.
Hospitals and providers now shift the cost of helping uninsured people onto those with insurance, by increasing charges.
Commissioners will hand their ideas and evaluation to lawmakers in January.
The proposal discussed Thursday has drawn the most attention, because commissioners created it themselves after evaluating four other concepts pitched by industry, union and health care provider groups across the state.
Their plan would expand public programs, such as Medicaid, and require individuals to purchase coverage, while providing subsidies to help low-income households.
At Thursday’s meeting, the commissioners also reviewed the testimony from some of the more than 1,000 people who attended the hearings.
“The only people more dissatisfied than the uninsured are those people with insurance,” said Arnold Salazar, representing Colorado’s rural communities.
“I guess this drives the point about (health care) being the top issue for everyone,” Salazar said.
