Reprinted from the Health District's quarterly publication mailed to district residents (Summer 2007)

A group that includes Health District staff has submitted one of four health-care reform proposals recently selected for further study by a state blue-ribbon panel.

The proposal was submitted by the Committee for Health Care Solutions whose members include the Health District’s executive director Carol Plock and medical director Dr. Bruce Cooper, who was also lead author.

Titled “A Plan for Covering Coloradans,” the proposal now undergoes detailed analysis aimed at creating recommendations for comprehensive health-care reform in the state.

The proposal was among 31 submitted to the Blue Ribbon Commission for Health Care Reform, a bipartisan panel charged by the legislature with finding ways to increase access to health-care coverage and decrease costs for Colorado residents, with particular focus on the uninsured, underinsured and those at risk of financial hardship due to the cost of medical care. The panel’s recommendations on reform options are due to the General Assembly in January.

Recognizing the importance that comprehensive health-care reform could have in addressing local health-care needs, the Health District board of directors gave its approval in February for staff to look into the possibility of assembling a group and creating a proposal given the complexity of the issue and the tight deadline for submissions. Plock and Cooper quickly recruited a diverse group to form the Committee for Health Care Solutions.

With support from Health District staff, the group developed its 35-page plan in six weeks. The proposal aims to create a fair system with affordable health coverage for everyone that allows people to choose health plans and doctors. It is designed to control costs and promote quality, keeping what works best from the current health-care system and changing what doesn’t. Under the plan, everyone would be covered for essential health-care needs. No one would be denied coverage or charged more for insurance due to illness or change of job.

Everyone would pay for coverage, but those who couldn’t afford full cost would receive assistance. Key elements of the proposal include a simplified, private health insurance system that retains consumer choice and an expansion of programs such as Medicaid and Child Health Plan Plus. Financing would be shared among individuals, employers, insurers and governments.

The complete proposal can be found at www.healthdistrict.org/planproposal.html.