The path to affordable health care in Colorado

When a community faces a difficult problem, it can illuminate society’s challenges and gaps. One of those challenges is that far too many Coloradans lack access to affordable health care. Talking about the gaps and challenges of our health care system is not new territory for us — our constituents have some of the highest prices in the individual market and people across the state continue to see prescription drug prices skyrocket. We met these challenges head-on by working for years to craft the Colorado Health Care Option that we introduced at the legislature just more than a month ago.

After a multi-year legislative process, months of direct meetings with stakeholders, and countless hours of bill drafting and amending, the bill had its first hearing in the same week that the first cases of the coronavirus were confirmed in our mountain communities. This was an unwelcome coincidence that saw the very people struggling to afford health care be the first ones hit by a lifethreatening health care pandemic. Soon after, the ski resorts closed, restaurants shut their doors, hospitals canceled elective surgeries, construction companies downsized, and lodging went from 100% occupancy to 98% vacancy. In a time when having insurance was more critical than ever, people lost their jobs and their access to health care. These devastating impacts on our communities highlight the need for the Colorado Option — a new and more affordable choice on the market — now more than ever.

As the country nears 20% unemployment, we are starkly reminded that employment is more than a job. It is a social connection, a pattern to daily life, and a sense of purpose; and, in America, it is many people’s connection to the security of health insurance for themselves and their families. In fact, 52% of Coloradans’ access to health care is dependent upon having a job. Consider these numbers in the midst of a health care national emergency and it is hard to argue that our health care system isn’t designed to fail many of our friends and neighbors. One more number: In the high country, unemployment is 50%.

We are proud of the bipartisan legislation that initiated the Colorado Option and we were hopeful that the engagement with hospitals, insurers, doctors, nurses, patients, business owners, and so many others — not to mention our constituents who are overly burdened with health insurance costs — would guide that bill through the House and the Senate and to the governor’s desk. Then, on March 14, for the safety of the public, staff, and our colleagues, the Colorado General Assembly adjourned, putting the Colorado Option on hold.

We take our roles of public servants very seriously especially as we prepare to return to the Capitol to resume our work in the midst of a public health emergency and economic crisis. We also take the job of writing law very seriously and believe in a transparent, public, and accessible process. We believe that the Colorado Option is the right policy and will help people across Colorado by increasing access to affordable health care. We also believe that a critical stakeholder group — our nurses, pharmacists, EMTs, doctors, and hospital staff — can’t participate in a policy process while trying to cope with a worldwide emergency. A successful Colorado Option needs the input of our frontline workers and right now they need to focus on taking care of patients and themselves. This bill was also about sharing the stories of what it meant to lose your health care because you lost your job or having to sacrifice your child’s college savings to pay your hospital bill. At this time, it does not feel sensible to broadly invite the public to come to the Capitol to share their stories while keeping everyone safe.

With that, we have reached the difficult decision of withdrawing the Colorado Option from this year’s session in order to ensure that those whom the bill is meant to serve and help can be robustly involved in the process. We will continue to not only work on the Colorado Option over the next months and year but also fight to make sure the health care industry focuses on people, not profits, and we will look for any possible solution to support those who lose health care or simply lack access to it. In the coming months, we look forward to safely gathering around meeting tables with all those who have a stake in the Colorado Option to make this policy work for Colorado and address the gap COVID-19 has illuminated. Our state will have a Colorado Option soon, one that increases access to affordable health care. But now is not the right time to debate this legislation. In the meantime, be kind and take care of you and yours.