In the wake of the Supreme Court’s decision in King v. Burwell upholding advance premium tax credits for Americans who need help affording basic health care coverage, our nation is at a crossroads.

Our political leaders and would-be leaders face a choice of direction. They can choose to go back to the days when fewer people had access to insurance, and that insurance covered less — or go forward on the vital journey of health care reform.

As we have done for the last decade, Coloradans will continue to lead the nation on that journey. For those committed to the work, the only real question is whether politicians choose to support or hinder us along the way.

Coloradans did not wait for action from Congress or the President to start pursuing market-based health care reform. Back in 2006, we created a bipartisan, blue-ribbon commission to study the issue, and in 2008 — two years before the Affordable Care Act was signed into law — they recommended a requirement for all Coloradans to have basic coverage, a state health insurance marketplace (which became Connect for Health Colorado), and other changes that later were mirrored in national legislation.

The results of our homegrown, bipartisan health care reform efforts have been overwhelmingly positive. In 2013, 17 percdent of Coloradans lacked any form of health coverage whatsoever. Today, that number is less than 11 percent and falling at a faster pace than in all but four other states. At the same time we have cut uninsured rates, we have been revolutionizing the way health care is delivered. Through the Accountable Care Collaborative in the state’s Medicaid program, which employs multidisciplinary patient-centered care teams, and by participating in federal eligibility reform, we have saved Colorado taxpayers at least $236 million.

Going forward, we will do even more. Colorado recently was awarded a competitive State Innovation Model grant to design and execute an ambitious strategy that will integrate mental health and substance use disorder care into the primary health care setting. This initiative has boundless potential to save and improve the lives of Coloradans from every corner of the state by promoting the prevention, early detection, and appropriate treatment of mental health conditions and substance use disorders. Our approach also will help prevent other physical illnesses and unhealthy behaviors, like smoking and obesity, cancer and cardiovascular disease.

Innovations here in Colorado have and will continue to be a model for the rest of the nation. Our integrated care initiative not only will serve as a template for other states to improve the overall health of their residents, it also will demonstrate that better public health leads to savings on a wide array of taxpayer-funded services.

Colorado also can serve as a model when it comes to political leadership for health. Every major piece of state health reform legislation in recent years has been passed with bipartisan votes, many with bipartisan sponsorship. Leaders on both sides of the aisle have prioritized the health of Coloradans over partisan politics, even when it put them on the defensive against members of their own party. That is true statesmanship, and should inspire others who seek political office.

To be an even better role model on this issue, Coloradans must show the rest of the country how to reconnect the politics of health care to the lives of people most affected by it. We must reject the use of health care reform as a partisan wedge issue, and engage in a civilized public conversation about how to empower all Coloradans with more equitable opportunities for health.

We do not have to agree with each other in order to work together, but we can agree that illness and injury are not partisan issues. Depression and heart disease do not care about your voter registration.

Health can and should be an issue that unites Americans. We are the least-healthy rich nation, and spend more than twice per-capita what other advanced countries do on health care, but in Colorado we are pioneering new approaches which can change all of that. Improving America’s health is a cause that can bring us together, and Colorado should be where we finally bridge that divide.

Our nation may be at a crossroads, but Coloradans are not standing still. We are moving forward for health, and we are confident many more will follow our lead.

Michael Lott-Manier is assistant director of public policy and strategic initiatives for Mental Health America of Colorado.