Health Care Cost Savings Act

House Bill 1176 introduced in the Colorado House of Representatives, if passed, will be a significant step in moving our state toward a more sane and studied alternative to our current unaffordable health insurance.

The Health Care Cost Savings Act of 2019 creates a task force that would analyze four options, among them single-payer, and report its findings to the legislature. This very significant bill would pose options to our current system that could produce much more affordable and greater public access to health care in Colorado. There are many sources of statistics, yet it seems hundreds of thousands of Coloradans are uninsured or underinsured. We must work harder to make our system equitable and more accessible.

I believe Colorado could be on a path to making it possible to cover all folks, and do it responsibly, but the challenge is enormous. Many moderate- to low-income persons and families are sacrificing health insurance in order to make ends meet. The Colorado Hospital Association recently noted that current and future costs are “unsustainable.” We are experiencing an open market approach, which, for reasonably priced health insurance is but fiction for too many individuals, families and small businesses.

Colorado has made substantial progress to affordable care with Medicaid expansion, yet we can do better. Let’s pass this legislation that could move us to a more reasonably priced health insurance for all of Colorado Citizens, perhaps a single payer system. Dean A. Woodward, Denver