Groups unite to lobby for statewide reform

DENVER - A coalition of groups representing business, unions, insurers and doctors has formed to push for statewide health care reform in 2008, saying the issue should not be dead on arrival when it hits the Legislature.

Such cooperation among groups that often disagree comes in response to rumblings from elected officials that reform ideas being discussed by the Blue Ribbon Commission for Health Care Reform will have no support, several members of the coalition said.

Represented organizations, dubbing themselves Partnership for a Healthy Colorado, hope their teamup will catch the attention of the General Assembly, they said.

“I think this is a great opportunity for lots of different opinions to come together,” said Jim Noon, owner of a Denver box company. “The status quo is not working, as more and more people become uninsured. It’s bad for business, and it’s bad for families.”

Groups involved in the partnership include the National Federation of Independent Businesses, the Service Employees International Union, Kaiser Permanente, the Colorado Medical Society and AARP.

Initial reaction from Pikes Peak-area legislators seemed to indicate that the coalition may not be able to change a lot of discussion, however. Democrats, including Sen. John Morse of Colorado Springs, who have pushed for reform in 2008 stuck to their goals, while Republicans who have bemoaned the cost of some proposals said such collaboration is unlikely to move them.

“I suspect that almost any plan that AARP is involved in is going to cost too much for people,” Sen. Dave Schultheis, R-Colorado Springs, said. “I will not vote for anything that I think is going to increase the cost of health care one iota.”

The commission, appointed by the state’s highest elected officials, is examining ways to make health care accessible to more people and to bring down the cost of insurance. It has whittled 31 proposals from interest groups down to four and is scheduled to present summaries and recommendations to legislators Jan. 31.

Those proposals include employer and/or individual mandates on purchasing health care, an increase in subsidies for those with low incomes to buy insurance and a Canada-style singlepayer system that is administered by the state government. Commissioners are blending ideas from all 31 proposals into a fifth plan that would require residents to buy health care, offer subsidies to poor people and reform insurance law to require that people with serious conditions be able to purchase affordable coverage.

Business Health Forum associate director Amy Fletcher said that partnership members have not agreed on which of the five options to support. Kathleen Chitty, a member of the SEIU Nurse Alliance, said she believes the group must merge its diverse interests and back one option.

Right now, the partnership wants to get residents more involved in the health care conversation by encouraging people to attend a series of statewide public hearings that the commission is hosting in the coming weeks, Fletcher said.

Morse said he thinks the coalition’s biggest influence ultimately could come from getting citizens involved in discussions and persuading them to call elected officials and tell them what they need and want.

“Yes, the Legislature is really great to get things written into law, but the outside is where you need movement,” Morse said.

PUBLIC HEARINGS

The Blue Ribbon Commission for Health Care Reform is holding a series of public hearings across the state, including two in our area:

Friday, 5 to 8 p.m., First Presbyterian Church, Aspen Room, 105 N. Weber St., Colorado Springs

Saturday, 5 to 8 p.m., Cañon City Skyline School commons area, 2855 Ninth St., Cañon City