By Lisa Frizell

Coloradans have a right to expect transparency, accountability and fiscal responsibility from public institutions. Unfortunately, the ongoing single-payer health care study commissioned last year under SB25-45 is raising more questions than answers. Despite repeated warnings from voters and prior analyses, the Colorado School of Public Health is moving forward with a new single-payer study that now carries a whopping $750,000 price tag.

When the General Assembly passed SB25-45, supporters promised this study would be funded entirely by private grants and donations. That assurance was meant to calm concerns taxpayer dollars would once again be spent rehashing an idea voters have already rejected. But transparency was always going to be essential. If private dollars are driving this work, the public has a right to know who is footing the bill and what personal interests may be influencing the outcome.

That is why I recently sent a letter to the Colorado School of Public Health requesting basic information: a list of funders, the amounts contributed, and additional details about the scope and timeline of the study. I also asked for clarification about the rising cost of the project, which started at more than $400,000 and has now grown to $750,000. Though the school has confirmed the study is fully funded and provided an explanation for the increased price tag, it declined to disclose the identities of the funders.

That refusal is deeply concerning.

Transparency should not be optional when the subject is a policy proposal that would fundamentally restructure Colorado’s entire health care system. A single-payer model would require unprecedented tax increases and a level of government control over individual health care decisions that most Coloradans have consistently rejected. When a public university undertakes research of this magnitude, the public should not be left guessing about who is underwriting the effort and whether they may have a conflict of interest.

We have been down this road before. Colorado has already studied single-payer health care multiple times. In 2021, the General Assembly commissioned a study that found a single-payer system could cost Colorado taxpayers up to $38 billion. Earlier analyses projected even higher price tags. And in 2016, voters overwhelmingly rejected Amendment 69, which would have created a government-run health care system funded by sweeping new taxes. Nearly 80% of Coloradans voted no.

Given the public’s lack of support for a single-payer system is well documented, it is reasonable to ask: what exactly are we trying to learn this time we did not already know?

Supporters argue circumstances have changed and a fresh look is warranted. But the fundamental math has not changed. A single-payer system would require enormous new revenue streams, meaning higher taxes on working families.

At a time when families are struggling with rising premiums, higher deductibles, and out-of-pocket costs, our focus should be on practical, bipartisan solutions that deliver real relief. We should be working to expand access to primary care, reduce regulatory burdens that drive up costs and support innovation that improves outcomes. These are tangible steps that can make a difference without leaving Coloradans with an expensive system they don’t want.

If this study is truly about informing public debate, then its sponsors should have no hesitation in disclosing who is paying for it. Transparency builds trust. Secrecy erodes it.

Coloradans deserve straight answers. They deserve transparency. And they deserve a legislature focused on real solutions, not relitigating costly and unpopular proposals. Only then can we have an honest conversation about the future of health care in Colorado.

Lisa Frizell is the Assistant Majority Leader in the Colorado Senate.