The Colorado Health Insurance Option – HB21-1232

In the midst of a public health and economic crisis, access to affordable health care is more important than ever. We must do everything we can to reduce Colorado’s high cost of care, ensure adequate health insurance options, and hold the corporate health care industry accountable for the service they provide. With your support, we can make healthcare more accessible and affordable for all Coloradans, including people of all races, incomes, and documentation statuses.

Corporate healthcare CEOs have already spent more than $1 million on ads attacking the Colorado Option. That doesn’t include the thousands they are spending on lobbyists that spread falsehoods and scare tactics at the Capitol. Unfortunately, it’s working.

We need you to act now and counteract their efforts. One thing that money cannot buy is your voice and your story. 

This pandemic has showcased the failures of our health care system in Colorado. Working Coloradans and small businesses do not have time to wait. The status quo will only prolong the pain of unaffordable health care and the suffering that Coloradans are facing.

The Colorado Health Insurance Option (the Colorado Option) is a two-phased approach to bring more affordable health insurance options to Coloradans in the individual and small employer markets. This means cheaper insurance for people and families buying insurance for themselves and for small businesses. The Colorado Health Insurance Option will: 

• Require the healthcare industry, including hospitals, insurance carriers, and prescription drug manufacturers, to work together to reduce their insurance premiums by 10 percent each year over two years. This provides an opportunity for the industry to take steps to make healthcare cheaper for all Coloradans with minimal government direction. 
• If the healthcare industry is not able to find a way to bring costs down, the State of Colorado will offer the Colorado Option that is more affordable than the plans currently offered in the market – adding competition to make healthcare more affordable.