Some of Colorado’s lawmakers want to explore anew the possibility of implementing a single-payer health care system in Colorado roughly eight years after voters soundly rejected the idea. 

The bill, House Bill 1075, received approval on Wednesday from the House Health and Human Services Committee.

In pushing for the measure, sponsors cited a 2019 study that concluded a “full publicly financed and privately delivered health care system could yield significant healthcare savings.” In 2016, roughly 80% of Colorado’s voters rejected a ballot measure that would have created a single-payer system financed by new taxes to the tune of $25 billion a year.

If the bill is enacted, the the Colorado School of Public Health would be tasked with analyzing draft model legislation for implementing a single-payer, not for-profit, publicly financed and privately delivered universal health care payment system that directly compensates providers.

It would also create a task force that would advise the School of Public Health during its analysis. 

Bill sponsor Rep. Karen McCormick, D- Hygiene, said it would expand on the findings of study initiated by House Bill 19-1176, also known as the “Health Care Cost Savings Act.” That study, which was also conducted by the School of Public Health, claimed that implementing a single-payer health care system would extend broader coverage to Coloradans and result in substantial cost savings. 

McCormick and the bill’s co-sponsor, Rep. Andrew Boesenecker, D- Berthoud, previously sponsored a similar bill, House Bill 23-1209, which cleared the House, but the legislative session ended while it was being discussed in the Senate. 

Dr. Greg Tung, a Professor at the Colorado School of Public Health and a contributor to the 2019 study, supports the 2024 bill. This bill would be a more focused effort to examine the specific cost implications to implement a universal health care system, specifically for stakeholders, such as hospitals and individuals covered by specific payment systems, he said.

Opponents of the bill, including committee member Rep. Brandi Bradley, R- Larkspur, cited Amendment 69, a 2016 ballot measure that proposed creating a payment system designed to finance universal health care in the state. Nearly 80% of Coloradans voted against the measure. Bradley also referenced a committee report on affordable health care that did not recommend a single payer system.

“We keep saying this is gonna work, and we’ve heard our constituents say no,” she said. “We’ve developed commissions — they’ve said no. So, now we have a task force. I’m just wondering when you guys are gonna finally listen.” 

During her closing remarks to the committee, McCormick acknowledged concerns stemming from the Amendment 69 vote, revealing that she herself even voted against it at the time. However, she said, she has learned a lot since 2016 and she believes the voters have, as well.

Amendment 69 sought to create a “universal” health care in Colorado, run by a single insurer financed by a 10% payroll tax and split between employers, who would have paid for two-thirds of the tax, and workers paying for the rest. Once fully implemented, the proposed new taxes would have raised $25 billion in new revenue each year. 

Also speaking in favor of HB1075 was Hope Stone of the Colorado Consumer Health Initiative. 

“The status quo of how we pay for and delivery health care is not working,” she said. “Consumers across Colorado feel the physical, financial and emotional impacts of these market failures every day.”

William Navarrete Moreno, a student from the University of Colorado and a member of the school’s Coalition for Health Advancement and Narrowing Gaps In Equity, spoke of his family’s struggles to afford healthcare due to high costs. Both his mother, who had cancer, and his brother, who struggled with a substance use disorder, died because they were unable to afford treatment for their respective conditions, he said.  

“This bill offers a glimmer of hope for our state,” he said. “It opens doors to allow us to create a future health care system that allows future generations to know that health care is not a privilege reserved for the ones who can afford it, but a right for all.”

Meghan Dollar of the Colorado Chamber of Commerce echoed the concerns voiced by committee member Rep. Richard Holtorf, R- Fort Morgan, that the bill’s language alluded to a predetermined outcome.

“While we recognize that the bill is a study, we are concerned that there is some intent in the study to get a predetermined outcome,” she said. “In addition, given all the work that’s been done in the past on improving Colorado’s health care system, why not let some of those policies play out before look at studying a single payer system as well?”

Rachel Beck of the Colorado Competitive Council, said, “Both the data and the voters have made it clear that this is not an efficient way to provide Coloradans with essential health care.”

Four amendments were made to the bill, including one to add three more members to the advisory committee and to allow the School of Public Health to hire an actuarial consultant to help. The amended version of the bill passed along party lines and will now go before the House Appropriations Committee. 

In the Senate, the bill is sponsored by Sen. Sonya Jaquez Lewis, D- Lafayette.