DENVER — Colorado’s Health Care Future issued the following statement after the Senate Health and Human Services Committee approved House Bill (HB) 23-1209, which would fund a study to examine eliminating Colorado’s current health insurance system—including the health insurance most Coloradans get through their employers—and creating a one-size-fits-all state government-controlled health insurance system, or “single-payer” system, like Medicare for All.

“There is no need to spend $306,000 tax dollars studying what single-payer health care would look like in Colorado, because Colorado is already undergoing a test run of single-payer lite, through the Colorado Option law which took effect this year and is already failing to deliver on the promise of providing Coloradans with more health care choices at lower costs.

“Instead, the Colorado Option has led to market instability, nearly every county in Colorado continues to experience provider shortages, threatening access to care for patients, and nearly nine in 10 Coloradans who shopped for individual coverage have rejected the state government-controlled Colorado Option.

“Today, instead of recognizing these failures of single-payer lite and working to correct them, many Colorado lawmakers think Colorado should scrap its existing health insurance system altogether in favor of a one-size-fits-all single-payer system.

“Now that we know single-payer lite is not working in Colorado, there is no reason to suspect that a one-size-fits-all single-payer system will work either. The Senate should reject this bill.”

A new analysis conducted by NovaRest, an independent actuarial consulting firm with extensive experience supporting state and federal insurance regulators, highlighted how the Colorado Option has fallen short on the promise to save Coloradans money on their health care. The actuarial analysis demonstrates how this state government-controlled health insurance system is increasing costs, reducing competition in the state’s health insurance market, and driving health care provider shortages that threaten access to care for patients.

Read NovaRest’s actuarial analysis on the Colorado Public Option here.

Read more about Colorado’s Health Care Future here.