Price tag for health plan would reach into billions

Proposal would cover most of state's uninsured

Chris Barge, Rocky Mountain News

Published October 19, 2007 at midnight

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More than 85 percent of uninsured Coloradans would receive health insurance under a plan developed by a commission formed to tackle the problem.

But insuring those 685,200 people would cost the state between $1.4 billion and $2.1 billion, a consultant told the Colorado Blue Ribbon Commission on Health Care Reform on Thursday.

"Now it's time to see if you can drive down costs in some way," John Sheils, senior vice president of the Virginia-based Lewin Group, told the commission. Lewin is a consulting firm hired to analyze the proposals.

The commission has been evaluating ways to put in place a statewide health care system that would slow runaway insurance costs while covering some of what Lewin estimates to be the state's 791,800 uninsured.

The commission devised the latest approach after studying four other plans submitted by interest groups across the state.

The commission's so-called fifth proposal mandates that everyone have health coverage or pay a penalty. It would bring most of the state's uninsured population into the fold by expanding Medicaid and children's health insurance programs; offering private insurance subsidies to families living at up to four times the federal poverty level; and allowing disabled people living at up to 450 percent of the poverty level to buy into Medicaid.

The commission members have toured the state over the past month, hearing people's concerns. On Thursday, the commission members shared stories from the 14 meetings.

Many said they were deeply influenced by the heart-wrenching personal testimonies of people who were let down by the health care system.

They spoke of a woman with childhood epilepsy, who told them their decisions will shape the fate of people like her.

"I was most struck by the people who hadn't done anything wrong," commission member Barbara Yondorf said. "That's where I want the money to go."

"To me, it is about the stories," commission member Mark Wallace said. "How this touches people and what their stories might look like and feel like with the changes we suggest."

Commission members will meet today to try to winnow down the fifth proposal's costs by targeting only the state's neediest people. The panel plans to work with Lewin over the next month to refine the plan.

The 'fifth proposal'

Who gets covered? What's it cost?

685,200 Coloradans are without insurance today who would become insured under the fifth plan.

106,600 who would remain uninsured.

$1.4 billion is the new annual cost to the state if Colorado received all federal waivers.

$2.1 billion is the new annual cost to the state if it did not receive federal waivers.

? The commission will meet from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. today to discuss the Lewin Group's analysis of the fifth proposal for health care reform at Englewood City Center, 1000 Englewood Parkway, Second Floor, Community Room.

? Final recommendations from the panel are scheduled to be presented to the legislature in January.Source: The Lewin Group, Draft Report What'S Next:

bargec@RockyMountainNews.com or 303-954-5059

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