Blasting other Democrats as out of step with their own governor, the Colorado Republican Party Wednesday said Gov. John Hickenlooper opposes the individual mandate, a key tenet of the federal health care reform.
The governor’s office denies he said any such thing.
The state GOP issued a press release late Wednesday afternoon that said the Democratic governor “surprised Coloradans” by telling Ryan Warner, the host of Colorado Public Radio’s “Colorado Matters,” that Hickenlooper “opposes Obama’s individual mandate.” The mandate in the 2010 Affordable Care Act is at the heart of a case before the U.S. Supreme Court challenging the law.
In the interview, Warner asked Hickenlooper if he would support a state-level mandate in the event the court strikes down the federal one.
“In the end, I don’t think you have to mandate it if it (health care reform) is crafted properly,” Hickenlooper said.
Warner asked what that system would look like, but the governor only said it would involve a “basic health care umbrella” that would also emphasize exercise and healthier lifestyles.
Warner asked if a Democratic governor was saying he didn’t like the individual mandate.
“No, you must have misheard that,” Hickenlooper said. “You obviously need some mandates. But I think one of the issues around health care is everyone’s talking about you have to have this mandate, and yet I think there might be other ways to do it without a mandate.”
Megan Castle, a spokeswoman for the governor, said “nowhere in the interview did the governor express opposition to the individual mandate.
“What he said is that, put in the right context, most consumers will want to buy coverage if is made available and affordable.”
State GOP spokesman Chuck Poplstein, though, said his party correctly interpreted the governor’s comments.
“I don’t think anyone would conclude from those comments that he supports the mandate,” Poplstein said.
Tim Hoover: 303-954-1626 or thoover@denverpost.com
