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The Health Insurance Situation in Colorado

In November 2007, the Blue Ribbon Commission for Health Care Reform made recommendations for improving the health insurance situation in Colorado.  The commission consists of 27 members – 24 of whom voted in favor of the recommendations.  Public hearings held in October found Colorado residents supported a single-payer universal system.

The commission did not suggest following the public’s recommendations.  Instead, they recommend continuing the current private health insurance network and mandating that every Colorado citizen carry their own health insurance.  The 792,000 Coloradans who do not currently have insurance would be penalized for not complying with the mandate.  The cost would be $1.1 billion.

Before making a recommendation, the commission reviewed five different proposals.  The one they recommended was the second most expensive.  The least expensive was a single-payer plan referred to as Medicare for all which would save taxpayers $1.4 billion a year and would cover everyone in the state.  The recommended plan would still leave just over 97,000 Coloradans uninsured.