Republicans took their first jabs at major health care reform proposals Monday, setting up for a hot-blooded battle when the legislature convenes next month.
Calling the most expensive of the multi-billion-dollar proposals from a state health care commission “reckless,” GOP leaders announced their own agenda outside a health clinic in a Stapleton Wal-Mart Supercenter.
“Our health care system is still the best in the world,” said Rep. Amy Stephens, R-Monument. “We cannot, and should not, take a wrecking ball to that system.”
Instead of sweeping reform, the Republicans aim to let health care improve without major government intervention. Among the ideas are letting Coloradans buy health insurance outside the state, providing a low-cost, basic-coverage plan for the uninsured and granting more authority to nurses.
Democrats, who criticized the GOP proposals as unoriginal and vague, are awaiting recommendations in January from the 27-member commission studying health care.
“It is too soon to declare that process a failure or a success,” said House Speaker Andrew Romanoff, D-Denver.
The commission wants to require Coloradans to buy health insurance or pay a tax penalty, as well as expand eligibility for public health programs to more needy families.
The panel’s main set of recommendations, estimated to cost $1.1 billion, would cover all but 96,000 of the 792,000 uninsured people in Colorado. The group will present five proposals ranging in cost from $389 million to $15 billion in new state spending.
Some of the Republican proposals — including the low-cost benefit plan for the uninsured and greater authority for nurses — are included in the panel’s proposals, said commission chairman Bill Lindsay.
Democrats, who control the House and Senate, argue the health care system is in need of a major overhaul.
“The system is broken, and some things are going to have to be fixed,” said Rep. Anne McGihon, D-Denver.
Republicans and Democrats expect health care reform to top the agenda next legislative session, and neither side is ruling out a proposed tax increase on the 2008 ballot.
Other GOP proposals include:
Expanding public programs for people with developmental disabilities. At least 4,000 people are on waiting lists for services and some estimate it would cost $70 million to eliminate those lists.
Urging the federal government to let people who buy their own insurance deduct the cost from their income taxes.
