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The Colorado Creation of ColoradoCare System Initiative, also known as Amendment 69, is on the November 8, 2016, ballot in Colorado as an initiated constitutional amendment.[1]
A "yes" vote supports creating ColoradoCare, a healthcare payment system designed to finance universal healthcare for Colorado residents partly through an additional 10 percent payroll tax—two thirds paid by employers and one third by employees—providing approximately $25 billion per year in revenue.
A "no" vote opposes this proposal, leaving the Colorado healthcare system unchanged.
Overview
ColoradoCare
Amendment 69 is a citizen-initiated constitutional amendment that would establish a political subdivision of the state called “ColoradoCare.” The measure was designed to establish a statewide program to provide universal healthcare coverage and finance healthcare services for Colorado residents. Amendment 69 would not prevent people from purchasing private health insurance. A 21-member board of trustees would govern ColoradoCare. As ColoradoCare would operate as a cooperative, members would vote for candidates to serve on the co-op's board and decide whether taxes should be increased to provide additional funding to the program. To fund ColoradoCare, a 10 percent payroll tax would be implemented, with employers paying 6.67 percent and employees paying 3.33 percent. Other non-payroll income would also be taxed at 10 percent.[1][2]
ACA and state healthcare systems
A section of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) allows states to create their own healthcare systems. If given a waiver, Colorado would be eligible to receive subsidies that would otherwise go to state residents to use on the private market. This means that Colorado could receive federal funding towards ColoradoCare.
State of the ballot measure campaigns
Opponents, organized as Coloradans for Coloradans, had outraised supporters five-to-one, as of October 18, 2016. ColoradoCare Yes had received about $836,813, while opponents raised $4,048,293. The top donor to the “Yes” campaign was Lyn Gullette, who contributed $168 thousand. The top donor to the “No” campaign was health insurance firm Anthem, Inc., which provided $1 million. Polls indicate low support for Amendment 69, with 28.5 percent of voters supporting and 60.5 percent opposing the measure.
Initiative design
ColoradoCare is intended to provide universal healthcare coverage for most Coloradans. Beneficiaries of Medicaid and military programs, such as Tricare, would continue to receive healthcare coverage through the federal government.
What would ColoradoCare do?
The system would aim to cover all state residents. Amendment 69 would require the following 11 categories to be included as comprehensive benefits:[1]
ambulatory patient services, including primary and specialty care
hospitalization
prescription drugs and medical equipment
mental health services and substance abuse services, including behavioral health treatment
emergency and urgent care
preventive and wellness services
chronic disease management
rehabilitative and habilitative services and devices
pediatric care, including oral, vision, and hearing services
laboratory services, maternity, and newborn care
palliative and end-of-life care
Amendment 69 would mandate that ColoradoCare pay for healthcare services regardless of the cause of the patient's illness or injury. ColoradoCare would replace the medical care portion of workers' compensation insurance. Beneficiaries that would be eligible for Medicaid or the Children’s Basic Health Plan would receive benefits required by federal law in addition to ColoradoCare's standard benefits.
ColoradoCare would not charge beneficiaries any deductibles, nor would designated preventive and primary care services have copayments. Other copayments would be waived in cases of financial hardship.
Beneficiaries would be permitted to choose their primary care professionals and still be covered if they are temporarily living, or traveling, in another state.
How would ColoradoCare be funded?
The Colorado Department of Revenue would collect the following taxes to fund ColoradoCare:[1]
A 10 percent payroll tax, with employers paying 6.67 percent and employees paying 3.33 percent.
A 10 percent tax of all non-payroll income.
Non-payroll incomes would include income from self-employment, interest and dividends, capital gains, business proprietors' income, and any Social Security benefits, pension payments, and annuities that do not qualify for the pension/annuity subtraction. The Colorado pension/annuity subtraction allows a certain amount of retirement benefits and pension income to be exempt from income taxes. The additional 10 percent income tax proposed by Amendment 69 was designed to apply to these sources of income in accordance with this deduction, which exempts up to $20,000 or $24,000 in income from pensions and annuities, depending on the age of the taxpayer.[3]
To qualify for this subtraction, a taxpayer must be over 55 years old or be a beneficiary earning a pension or annuity due to the death of the pension earner.
The amount of pension/annuity income that can be subtracted caps at $20,000 per year for those under 65 years old.
The amount of pension/annuity income that can be subtracted caps at $24,000 per year for those 65 or older.
According to the measure's fiscal impact statement, the taxes for ColoradoCare would generate $25 billion in revenue for the program in budget year 2019-2020.[4]
Tax revenue collected for ColoradoCare would be exempt from the Colorado Taxpayer Bill of Rights (TABOR).
The ColoradoCare Board of Trustees would conduct an annual assessment of the program's revenues and costs. Should more revenue be needed to maintain ColoradoCare's fiscal stability, the board would refer to members a ballot question asking them whether taxes should be increased. A majority vote would be needed to increase taxes.
How would ColoradoCare be administered?
ColoradoCare was designed as a cooperative. Beneficiaries of ColoradoCare would be considered members, and members would elect a Board of Trustees to govern ColoradoCare. The measure would create a 21-member Board of Trustees and seven electoral districts. From each of these seven electoral districts, members would elect three Trustees. Districts would need to be compact and contiguous and have roughly the same number of residents. Trustees would serve four-year terms and receive "reasonable compensation and expense reimbursement."[1]
The board's duties would include:[1]
hiring an executive team to administer the operations of ColoradoCare;
establishing separate ombudsman, also known as a public advocate, offices for beneficiaries and providers
establishing a Central Purchasing Authority for negotiating favorable prices for prescription drugs, medical equipment, and services;
approving and making publicly available an annual budget;
establishing procedures for managing surplus funding, maintaining operating reserves, increasing benefits, and issuing refunds to members;
establishing an efficient and accessible system of medical records and billing records;
establishing and funding an office to prevent and investigate fraud;
establishing rules and procedures to ensure financial sustainability;
establishing rules for independent annual performance and financial audits;
establishing rules to ensure transparency in operations and decision-making;
ensuring beneficiary confidentiality while allowing for research of ColoradoCare’s database; and
establishing an appeals procedure that allows beneficiaries and providers to challenge coverage and payment decisions. -
Wow is right.. May need to rethink a CO move and go further north. It's getting a little blue for my taste.Comment
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I'm actually giving up in Colorado. I just moved here too late. I've been house shopping for a year straight and everything I've seen that I liked is in the 700k+ range for 1500-2000sq feet, maybe alittle more.
I bring home over 50k a year net and go from paycheck to paycheck just living in a rent condo. They also take 25% across the board (after insurance) and you have to pay a special tax just to work in Denver.
My condo was 1700 for 650 sq feet in a shit part of town.. I just bought a house in Lake Worth (2 minutes away from palm beach) for 170k and it's amazing. Glad to be moving and getting away from all the traffic. It literally takes you 1 hour to go 10 miles if you are on the roads anywhere between 6am-7pm.
If you do come, to live comfortable make sure you and your spouse have a combined income of over 100k net and don't expect to save a lot either on that.
Plus the highest fucking octane gas they sell here is 91.. Most people use 85. I've never even seen 85 before..Comment
"If you like your doctor you can keep your doctor" redux, lolComment
Mountain gas!Originally posted by FunFordCobra View Post
Seriously though, because of the higher altitude, supposedly.Comment
I think the octane of typical regular unleaded in El Paso is close to that, at 86.Comment
Back on topic, BTW.. At least it sounds like that would replace traditional health care. So while payroll tax would be going up, no more insurance premiums, right? Hell, my monthly (family) medical premiums are more than 10% of my income today.Comment
As are mine, but then again in return I have a so-called cadillac plan. CHOO$$$$$CHOO$$$$$$!!!!!Originally posted by Chili View PostComment
Yeah, so do I, so they say. It's better than many, I will admit.. But I have had much better buy-up plans in the past. As it is our premiums have held where others have gone way up, but deductibles and out of pocket maximums keep going up instead.Originally posted by The King View PostComment
That sounds like a death knell for Colorado to me."Self-government won't work without self-discipline." - Paul HarveyComment
Wow is right. What a fantastic way to further burden the economy and discourage any new businesses from moving to the state.
In related news; Obamacare announces double digit premium hikes with even less insurers participating. Another gem from the Obama Administration.Last edited by LS1Goat; 10-25-2016, 07:28 PM.Comment
If this were to pass, I would be very interested to see how many, if any, Doctors flee the state.Comment
Gotta remember the single payer would mean EVERYONE has the same level of care. There would be no plan choices.Originally posted by Chili View Post"Self-government won't work without self-discipline." - Paul HarveyComment
Oh I know. There are more reasons than money for not liking government managed healthcare.Originally posted by GhostTX View Post
"If you think you hate HMO's now, just wait until you have a government led HMO!"
Seriously though, growing up in CA we always had Kaiser Permanente.. They more or less had a monopoly on shit out there and it was a nightmare. Think about the bad stuff you have heard about the VA and you'll be in the right area. Want a new PCP? That'll take about 6 months to get the first appointment. Oh, you need glasses? Make your appointment now and we'll see you next year.
Fuck all that. That is the main reason I have always paid for the best medical option offered by my employers.Comment
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