The thought of moving away from a health insurance system can seem a bit scary, but we have to keep moving forward. The current trajectory of U.S. health care spending is unsustainable. Health care expenditures equaling 20 percent of our economy is a drag on the American people. We have to do more than bend the cost curve. Google this: “most expensive least effective health care in the developed world.”

The Affordable Care Act is not what the political wave of 2008 wanted, but the shrewdness negotiated into the Affordable Care Act allows states to continue the push for sane health policy if they are able.

Because ColoradoCare is designed to be more efficient than the 80/20 federal insurance system in that it improves the richness of benefits, increases access to care and decreases cost, Colorado would receive money from funds allocated by the state innovation waiver built into the Affordable Care Act. This would be added to existing state and federal monies and to the monies collected in the form of the payroll and non-payroll income taxes to fund the system.

It may seem like a scary thing to begin the transformation our nation needs in Colorado. And we should not be discouraged by where America is currently ranked on the international health care cost-efficiency list. The number of industrialized countries that have transformed their health care systems to provide universal coverage is many. We should be encouraged by the length of the list! — there is lots of responsible advice available. Real strengths and weaknesses of universal health systems are known.

It is time for us Americans to get efficient with our health care, and Colorado can lead the way! There is a better way to collect the dollars we use to provide Colorado citizens with health care. In the Nov. 15 Balance of Power: ColoradoCare on the Ballot debate on 9News, Dr. Irene Aguilar, a state senator, explained, “In 2019, Colorado will spend $51 billion on health care. Twenty-five billion of that will come from the state and federal government, and the other 25-plus billion of that will come from the people’s pocket — so [ColoradoCare] is not a new 25 billion that isn’t out there. It’s just collecting the same 25 billion in a different way.” ColoradoCare will collect billions less than the people of Colorado currently spend, cover everyone with richer benefits — while retaining patient choice of primary care physician. The efficiencies and sanity come from design.

Instead of heath care cost being a direct function of a person’s address, family health records, and so forth, the cost to consumers under ColoradoCare becomes a function of one’s ability to pay. Health insurance premiums would go away and be replaced by payroll and non-payroll taxes. Employees would pay a small percentage of payroll, a little over 3 percent. Businesses would pay double that. Self-employed people would pay the employee and business parts, 10 percent. Non-payroll income would be taxed at 10 percent, but that is capped. “It is a purple plan for a purple state,” as ColoradoCare backer T.R. Reid says.

Unsurprisingly, many rural communities are for the ColoradoCare initiative. Their current health insurance premiums are higher than premiums for people in the city. Rural communities feel the pinch of the current system.

ColoradoCare would eliminate some fears from Coloradans.

On Obamacarefacts.com it reads, “It’s estimated there are between 20,000 and 45,000 deaths a year due to lack of health insurance.” Unnecessary deaths due to a lack in health care services are inexcusable! Under ColoradoCare everyone is covered.

Also under ColoradoCare, people wouldn’t fear going without care or medicines because of cost, nor the financial ruin some families face to care for a family member. People would be freed to change jobs without having to worry about access or cost of health care. Coloradans retain — or gain, as the case may be — the ability to choose their primary care physician.

The forces of opposition to ColoradoCare may have more money and media to throw against this initiative, but in 2016 ColoradoCare will pass.People are naturally for ColoradoCare when they can see through the fear and understand some basic principles built into the proposal. This initiative forces us to make a real cost comparison between the proposed system and our current system. Let’s catch up. Come on!

Eric Reinke is an organizer for the Community Wealth Building Network. He lives in Aurora.