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https://www.propublica.org/article/unitedhealth-healthcare-insurance-denial-ulcerative-colitis

The two words that can make health care a nightmare!

https://nymag.com/intelligencer/2023/07/how-prior-authorization-makes-health-care-a-nightmare.html

We mentioned earlier this year that there was a bill in the Colorado legislature that would have commissioned a study to create a plan on how to best implement a single-payer healthcare system in Colorado. Unfortunately, the bill was never voted on in the Colorado Senate. There are all kinds of theories about why this happened and who might have blocked the bill, but it ultimately did not pass the legislature.

Be that as it may, there is already an effort underway to get a similar bill passed in the 2024 legislative session.  We believe that we know better how to make sure this one passes, and we are working hard on it.

Assuming that the new bill passes, there is a complete plan on how to proceed.  The plan delivered by the Colorado School of Public Health would be used to create legislation that would be presented in the following legislative session.  This legislation would establish a single-payer healthcare system for Colorado which would cover all Colorado residents for all medically-necessary care.  When this legislation passes the legislature, it would go to the voters for approval.  In the event that we cannot get a referred measure through the legislature, we are prepared to collect enough signatures to send it to the voters anyway.

We are well aware that getting all this done will require a great deal of effort.  It will also mean we will need to raise large sums of money to counteract the attacks that we know will come from the special interests who want to preserve the current system and their massive profits.  But we are determined to make this happen.  A significant number of healthcare advocacy groups from across Colorado are working together to implement a true universal healthcare system in our state.

We would ask you to step up and help.  Whether you get personally involved in these efforts or just support the efforts with donations, you can make a difference!  For more information, feel free to email us at info@cohccoalition.org.

A bill has recently been introduced into the Colorado House, HB23-1209, that commissions a report from the Colorado School of Public Health detailing the best way to implement a Colorado single-payer system. Single-payer means publicly financed, but privately delivered. The goal of the report is to answer the many questions about exactly how to best structure such a system so that every Colorado resident is covered and we spend less on healthcare.

The report is due by October 2024. The bill also creates a task force which will provide guidance to the School of Public Health. The task force must include members from various state agencies, healthcare organizations, and geographic areas. The goal is to make sure that the views of everyone in Colorado are considered.

After the report is received, it is our goal to have the legislature refer a measure to the voters of Colorado to establish a single-state, single-payer system, using the information from the report to make sure that we present the voters with the best system possible.

Again, this bill does not create a single-payer system.  It just provides information about how that could best be done.  We expect this bill to pass the House.  But you can help by contacting your state senator and ask him or her to support HB23-1209.