“The House Health and Insurance Committee members heard testimony overwhelmingly opposing the proposal to create a new state government option health insurance system with HB20-1349. Health care providers from rural, critical access hospitals, nurses and doctors from urban teaching hospitals, economic experts, business leaders, carriers, local elected officials, small business owners and skilled workers, across the board, voiced concerns about the proposal.

From the proposal’s granting of unprecedented power to an unelected official, the cost shifts to employer coverage and the impact to quality and access to care, stakeholders shared their concerns about unanswered questions and unknown outcomes. It is disappointing that the committee members ignored the urging of stakeholders from every corner of the state who asked lawmakers to oppose HB20-1349, slow down and allow for more analysis, and instead advanced the bill without proper consideration of the unintended consequences. We need to fix what’s broken instead of starting over with an ambiguous, one-size-fits-all state government option.”