Republican lawmakers previewed their health care agenda for the upcoming legislative session Monday.
Colorado's minority party will propose legislation to provide coverage for small business employees who are currently not covered by health insurance and a proposal to expand competition in insurance products by allowing people to purchase plans from other states.
They also say they'll introduce a measure to expand access to health care for residents in rural Colorado as well as a proposed bill to reduce waiting lines for people with developmental disabilities.
While many key Democrats said they'll wait until they receive recommendations from the Blue Ribbon Commission on Health Care Reform before unveiling any proposed health care legislation, their counterparts in the GOP decided to explore alternatives before the report was finalized.
Senate Minority Leader Andy McElhany, R-Colorado Springs, said the proposed reform plans studied by the commission are disruptive, expensive or both.
Sen. Shawn Mitchell, R-Broomfield, said that a proposal that the commission authored and based most of its recommendations on would drive up health care costs.
The commission recommends requiring all Coloradans to obtain coverage, provide subsidies to help low-income workers below 400 percent of the federal poverty level to obtain coverage through their employers' plans. The commission's proposal would cover 87 percent of the state's roughly 800,000 uninsured at a cost of about $1.1 billion a year.
An additional $1.2 billion would be paid through private spending -- including those who obtain coverage because of the government mandates.
But while Republicans maintain their approach to health care reform doesn't rely on the government or tax dollars, the proposals still carry a price tag.
For example, a proposed health insurance plan for the uninsured who work for small employers would cost approximately $450 a month for each worker covered. The costs will be divided equally between the employee, the employer and the state.
Rep. Spencer Swalm, R-Centennial, who will co-sponsor the bill, says the voluntary program will provide access to roughly 200,000 Coloradans who currently lack insurance and would cost the state approximately $30 million a year if everyone eligible took used the plan.
Rep. Bob Gardner, R-Colorado Springs, who supports expanding the availability of programs to assist the developmentally disabled, said his proposal would require about 2 percent of the general appropriation fund.
House Speaker Andrew Romanoff, D-Denver, said while health care reform will be a top priority in the upcoming session, legislators ought to wait until the commission turns in its final report on Jan. 31 before declaring the process has been a failure or success.
Bill Lindsay, chair of the Blue Ribbon Commission for Health Care Reform, noted that the Republicans' proposals shared simularities with the commission's recommendations, including Swalm's limited benefit plan.
"The commission was responsible for developing recommendations to cover all Coloradans -- it's up to the General Assembly to decide what to implement," Lindsay said. "We expect there's going to be a lot of debate. But if [the Republicans are] limiting their health care plan to these six or seven proposals, it won't go far in covering Coloradans."
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