U.S. Senator Cory Gardner (Mark Leffingwell, Boulder Daily Camera)
Re: “Colorado health cooperative says feds reneged on promised payment,” Oct. 3 news story.
U.S. Sen. Cory Gardner questions the viability of Colorado’s major health care cooperative, Colorado HealthOP. The reality, though, is that cooperatives like Colorado HealthOP are important to helping small businesses secure affordable health insurance.
Cooperatives, created by the Affordable Care Act, bring nonprofit insurers to the health care market and promote competition that helps control the price of coverage. Cooperatives are required to use their profits to lower premiums, improve quality and expand benefits or enrollment.
More competition in the health care market is good for small businesses, because it contains costs and creates more options. Small-business owners should be able to choose plans that work for them and their employees — and cooperatives are an important tool in helping them do that. We encourage policymakers to work together to make Colorado HealthOP successful.
Tim Gaudette, Denver
The writer is Colorado outreach manager for Small Business Majority.
This letter was published in the Oct. 10 edition.
