Gov. Jared Polis says all the right things when it comes to health care. His administration’s own Roadmap to Saving Coloradans Money on Health Care proclaims loudly “high premiums, deductibles and other out-of-pocket charges make it difficult for people to afford care” and “it’s time to get health care costs under control.”

And yet, the actions of this administration — particularly its legislative agenda — speak louder than words.

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Three bills currently moving through the Colorado General Assembly — HB25-1222, HB25-1297, and HB25-1094, all sponsored by former Division of Insurance staffer Rep. Kyle Brown (D-Louisville) — would do the exact opposite of what the Roadmap promised. They will increase health insurance costs for families and employers, not reduce them. In fact, when taken together, these proposals could increase premiums by up to $120 per month for a family of four.

Let’s break it down: 

• HB25-1222 expands prescription drug reimbursement in a way that undermines value-based design, driving up costs for plans and consumers under the guise of improving access.
• HB25-1297 imposes a 1% fee on carriers to fund a narrow population without sufficient accountability or long-term sustainability.
• HB25-1094 threatens cost-saving pharmacy benefit structures and lines the pockets of Big Pharma at the expense of employers and families.

Each of these bills piles new mandates or fees onto health plans, and the inevitable result is premiums go up. That’s not speculation — it’s math.

Gov. Polis and Rep. Brown have spoken extensively about equity, affordability and transparency. But if those are truly the goals, then why are we layering on costs to hurt the very consumers and businesses they claim to help?

This is what politicians talking out of both sides of their mouths looks like: touting cost containment in press releases and strategic documents while championing policies that increase the cost of coverage for the 300,000 Coloradans in the individual market and countless more in employer-sponsored plans.

Gov. Polis and Lieutenant Gov. Dianne Primavera established the Office of Saving People Money on Health Care with the right mission. They’ve promoted transparency, reinsurance and even launched a public option with the promise it would save Coloradans money. But when legislative proposals directly undermine those gains, it’s not just disappointing — it’s disingenuous.

This isn’t about politics. It’s about math, and it’s about trust.

You can’t claim to be cutting costs while supporting bills that increase them. You can’t claim to defend reinsurance — one of Colorado’s most successful affordability tools — while allowing its funds to be repurposed or diminished. And you certainly can’t ask Colorado families to pay hundreds more a month in premiums and pretend it’s in the name of affordability.

Coloradans are paying attention. They’re tired of cost increases masked as reform. And they deserve a governor and a legislature that will follow through on their promises — not just write new press releases.

If affordability is truly the goal, then the path forward is clear: Withdraw these costly proposals, protect what’s working — like reinsurance — and engage all stakeholders, including health plans, from the beginning to build solutions that actually lower costs.

Anything less is just politics as usual — and that’s not what Coloradans were promised.

Kevin McFatridge is executive director of the Colorado Association of Health Plans.