Single-payer health care advocates in Colorado were disappointed when state Rep. John Kefalas, D-Fort Collins, failed to pass his health care bill this year. They are more disappointed this week as President Obama and Congressional officials continue to discuss health care without putting any single-payer proposals on the table.
The Fort Collins state representative pulled his bill, HB1273, in March after acknowledging a lack of support for the measure. The bill would have created a commission and moved toward study a single-payer system of universal health care coverage in Colorado.
Single-payer health care is a system of universal public health insurance, also referred to as Medicare For All. Similar programs is in place in Canada, Taiwan and Australia. Taiwanese government officials reportedly used the U.S. Medicare system as a model for the country’s single-payer health care plan.
However, a universal expansion of Medicare at the federal level is unlikely in the near future. Senators met this week to discuss health reform, and Obama is hosting White House discussions. They all say they are weighing several options but protestors at yesterday’s Senate hearing and other activists complain single-payer proposals are already off the table.
Instead, the current Democratic proposals would be a middle ground between the current private system and a public single-payer plan. They would likely create a public insurance entity to compete with the private insurance system.
MoveOn, Organizing for America and other progressive organizations support the middle-ground proposals. Other groups are still pushing for single-payer plans, including Physicians for a National Health Program and HealthCare-NOW. PNHP has 16,000 members and has been advocating for a universal single-payer system since 1987.
HealthCare-NOW has scheduled nationwide rallies for a national single-payer health care system at the end of May. Events include a protest from 10 a.m. to noon Saturday, May 30, on the steps of the state Capitol in Denver.
For more information, email mike.clapman@arapahope.org or call 721-231-1433.
Health Care for All Colorado is the state organization pushing for single-payer health care at the state level. The group has an active Northern Colorado chapter with upcoming events including a discussion from 9:45 to 10:45 a.m. Sunday, May 17, at the First United Methodist Church, 533 N. Grant Ave., Loveland.
There is also a town hall meeting on health care reform from 9 a.m. to noon Saturday, May 30, at the Immanuel Lutheran Church, 1865 14th Ave., Greeley.
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