State commission hosts health care hearing May 12

By Cherry Sokoloski
North Forty News

Colorado's Blue Ribbon Commission for Healthcare Reform, generally referred to as the 208 Commission, plans public meetings this month to further probe the public mind about health care reform.

The meeting in Fort Collins is set for May 12, 1 to 4 p.m., at the Harmony Library. The commission plans to choose three to five top health care reform proposals by May 18.

Created by the Colorado Legislature in 2006, the commission is charged with finding ways to increase health care coverage and decrease health care costs for Coloradans, with particular emphasis on the issues of the uninsured, underinsured and those at risk of financial hardship due to medical care costs.

The commission accepted 28 proposals for health care reform on April 6. Proposals came from across the state, including two from Fort Collins and two from Greeley. After the commission chooses its top proposals, those plans will be subjected to an in-depth technical evaluation. Evaluators will be looking primarily at the issues of increased coverage and decreased costs.

The commission has until Nov. 30 to submit a recommendation for health care reform to the Colorado Legislature. However, legislation is being considered this year that would extend the deadline to Jan. 31, 2008. Commission members have stated that more time is needed to adequately analyze the top proposals.

An estimated 770,000 Coloradans are without health insurance, according to Anita Wesley, project coordinator for the 208 Commission. Gov. Bill Ritter has endorsed the work of the commission, rating health care reform as one of his top two priorities.

Local plans submitted

The two Fort Collins proposals came from the Committee for Colorado Health Care Solutions and from Savant Solutions Co., a local consulting firm.

The CCHCS is a group composed of two executives from the Health District of Northern Larimer County--medical director Bruce Cooper and executive director Carol Plock--and five other individuals. Their proposal recommends "comprehensive health care reform" including insurance reform, expansion of eligibility for Medicaid and the Child Health Plan Plus, and a premium assistance program for those who can't afford health insurance. The plan also calls for cost-control mechanisms in the health care system and for employers to contribute to insurance coverage for their employees.

The proposal from Savant Solutions calls for a gradual transition to a nonprofit system that would provide universal, comprehensive health care coverage under a single-payer state plan. The company proposes creating a team of experts to develop the system, then selecting a for-profit vendor to transition the current system to a state-run program over a three-year period. The state-run system would be optional and would be offered alongside current private insurance plans.

Barry Bode and Stuart Zisman, both of Greeley, also submitted proposals.

The complete proposals submitted to the 208 Commission may be viewed at www.colorado.gov/208commission.

For the May 12 meeting, the commission asks that participants respond to two questions: What are the one or two most important features that you feel must be included in any Colorado health care reform? What is the most important principle that should be considered in any reform effort? The commission encourages those who wish to speak to submit written comments as well. Those who cannot attend the meeting may submit written testimony via e-mail to 208commission@coloradofoundation.org.

Survey complete

Both the 208 Commission and the Colorado Progressive Coalition have hosted health care forums around the state over the past several months. The CPC conducted a health care survey among participants and recently compiled cumulative results from that survey.

"There is a remarkable uniformity of response from the participants, despite their demographic differences," said Clark Bouton of the CPC. "Public opinion as expressed verbally in the forums and in the response to the survey shows a striking disapproval of the existing health care system and--more significantly --a disagreement with the solutions thus far adopted by states' efforts at health care reform."

The following are some of the results of the CPC survey.

Of the respondents, 19 percent were uninsured, 56 percent had employer-sponsored health insurance and 16 percent had individual private insurance.

In the past two years, 20 percent of respondents had to postpone medical care, 12 percent had to take less than prescribed medications, 19 percent went without medical care, 18 percent were without health insurance for part of that time, and 14 percent reported financial hardship as a result of medical costs.

In terms of goals for health care reform, 77 percent rated guaranteeing health insurance to every child as most important. Seventy-four percent said controlling the cost of medical services was most important. The importance of each goal was rated independently.

Only 7 percent of respondents said health care should be left to the free market to provide. When asked to choose between the present system based primarily on private insurance and a universal health insurance program similar to Medicare and financed by taxes, 74 percent preferred the latter.