In 2006, the Senate Bill 208 Commission was formed to find ways of providing individual health insurance to the thousands of Colorado residents who are currently uninsured. While a number of options have been considered by the commission, several conservative politicians in the state have their own plans to introduce potential solutions.Republican Representative Cory Gardner wants to allow businesses to be able to unite with other businesses around the country in order to negotiate better plans with health insurance companies. For example, all car dealerships could work together to secure lower priced coverage. The businesses would not be required to do this, but they would have the option available.
Spencer Swalm, another Republican Representative, wants to propose a state-subsidized limited benefit program for the working poor where the insurance costs would be divided between employers and the state. Republican Senator Shawn Mitchell wants to allow Colorado’s citizens to look for health insurance outside Colorado in order to open up national competition.
Despite an abundance of options, any type of reform may end up the back burner. Colorado’s budget is already looking to be pretty tight and the costs for making changes to health insurance could be more than the state can afford.
