Gov. Bill Ritter announced a $25 million investment in health care reform Wednesday — a plan to cover more kids, eliminate wasted spending and keep people out of the emergency room for the common cold.
The governor touted his initiative as a “staged approach” to a more dramatic vision: to “someday” provide affordable health care to the 790,000 Coloradans without insurance.
Ritter said he would not ask voters for a tax increase this year for health care. His administration must prove it has cut needless spending, such as duplicate medical tests and paperwork, before hitting voters up for more cash, he said.
Health care advocates praised Ritter’s initiative as a “sensible down payment” and “important first step,” implying they hope there is more to come. Republican critics, who have advocated against a major health care fix this year, said the governor was abandoning earlier promises with his “Building Blocks” for health care reform.
“It looks like the Colorado Promise has been reduced to Lincoln Logs and Tinker Toys,” said Rep. Cory Gardner, R-Yuma.
Rep. Don Marostica, R-Loveland, said Ritter “had to back off” his earlier goals because they were “impossible.”
The governor said in his first state of the state speech 13 months ago that he hoped to insure all Coloradans by 2010. Ritter said Wednesday his goals hadn’t changed.
“My vision remains the same — that high-quality, affordable health care is available to every Coloradan,” he said. “We have to aim for excellence. We must never be satisfied.”
A $25 million state investment in health care — which has to get through the Democratic-controlled legislature — is likely to result in an additional $40 million in federal funds, Ritter said. Ritter said the $25 million will be available in the general fund, as school enrollment is lower than projected.
The governor’s plan takes its cues from a 27-member health care commission that met throughout 2007. But Ritter’s proposals don’t take on the panel’s boldest ideas: mandating all Coloradans have health insurance and requiring insurance companies to cover anyone, regardless of health status.
Commission co-chairman Mark Wallace, a Greeley physician, said the group’s report was a “road map to reform,” meant to happen in stages.
“This is a journey that we’re on, and it wasn’t a destination,” he said. “We will demonstrate the value before we ask you to commit more to this effort.”
Ritter’s reforms call for:
• Expanding eligibility in the Colorado children’s health plan to families earning 225 percent of the federal poverty level, which is about $48,000 a year for a family of four. That’s an increase from the current 200 percent.
• Intensifying efforts to enroll the 70,000 kids in Colorado who are eligible for the state health plan or Medicaid but not enrolled.
• Linking all children in Medicaid and the state health plan to a primary-care doctor or a health clinic to keep them out of expensive emergency rooms.
• Increasing the number of doctors who will provide care to Medicaid-covered children by increasing reimbursement rates.
• Establishing a Center for Improving Value in Health Care within the state Department of Health Care Policy and Financing. The center will strategize with business leaders, hospital executives and insurance companies about curbing rising health care costs.
“There’s been a lot of talk,” said Joan Henneberry, department director. “We’re ready to do things.”
This article has been corrected in this online archive. Originally, due to an editing error the sub-headline incorrectly characterized Republican legislators’ reaction to Gov. Bill Ritter’s $25 million initiative for health care reform. It is Ritter’s eventual goal to insure all Coloradans that was seen as “impossible,” not this year’s initiative.
