Colorado has a referendum to put on their November ballot. They are looking to replace the Affordable Care Act (Obamacare) with a state wide, single-payer health insurance.
ColoradoCare will offer comprehensive health care with everything from preventative care to end-of-life care. It will be funded by a ten percent payroll increase; 6.7 percent will be paid by the employer and 3.3 percent will be paid by the employee. There will also be a ten percent tax on investment income, income from self-employed people, and some small business income.
Naturally, conservative groups are lining up to oppose it. Supporters are optimistic though as Colorado voters are largely Democrats. Bernie Sanders is proposing a similar healthcare solution at the national level.
In the summary of the bill, proponents state that they are using Section 1332 of the Affordable Care Act. This section allows states to obtain waivers to create universal health care plans to replace Obamacare.
Some of the things that will be covered under Colorado Care would be:
- Primary and specialty care
- Hospitalizations
- Prescriptions
- Mental health services
- Emergency and urgent care
- Chronic illness management
- And many others
How would you use this program? All you would have to do is go to your doctor, and the doctor’s office would send the bill to ColoradoCare. You may be required to pay a copay, but there would not be any deductibles.
It would operate like a cooperative business much like credit unions, rural electric cooperatives, and would be entirely owned by the citizens of Colorado. The organization will be created with an amendment to the Colorado Constitution. The process to change the insurance system would start immediately if it passes the ballot; the program would be fully operational by 2019. Implementing this program would cut administrative costs drastically.
As someone with a chronic illness, I would love to see a system like this be implemented at the federal level or in my state. It would be wonderful to get treatment by doctors I chose without having to pay large copays. I would love to not have to choose between food or rent and the medicines that keep me alive.
For more information, see the video below:
https://youtu.be/HDikPECkGvk
Featured image via Getty/Scott Barbour
