State lawmakers will soon begin debate over a bill that would create a public option in Colorado’s health insurance exchange.
The democrat led bill’s goal is to lower premiums, not just on the exchange, but for all health insurance customers in Colorado.
Bill sponsors Rep. Dylan Roberts and Senator Kerry Donovan announced the Colorado Option Health Benefit Plan at a press conference yesterday, saying that many counties currently have just one provider that they can choose from on the state exchange, and often the plans are among the most expensive available.
The Colorado Option would create a state-structured insurance plan offered through a new non-profit entity called the Colorado Option Authority. Hospitals and health care providers would be required to accept the plan, and the state insurance commissioner would set reimbursement rates.
Senator Donovan said at the press conference, “This isn’t about imposing government mandates on the industry or forcing anyone to give up health care that they already have and like. It’s about asking the hospital systems and insurance companies to join us at the table and work together, find solutions to this problem that has persisted for far too long.”
A group called Partnership for America’s Health Care Future is opposing the legislation saying that a public option leaves consumers with fewer choices for coverage, fewer choices for hospitals, and higher taxes or higher premiums.
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