By Ed Sealover | The Sum & Substance
For the third year in a row, Colorado Democratic legislators have begun to advance a bill to study the impact of implementing a single-payer health-care system, though this year’s version of the legislation would carry no cost to the state itself.
The Senate Health and Human Services Committee on Thursday advanced Senate Bill 45 on a 6-3, party-line vote to the Senate Appropriations Committee. The bill’s supporters include medical professionals, local government leaders and the Colorado PTA, while business groups and the health-insurance industry are heading up the opposition.
SB 45, from Democratic Sens. Sonya Jaquez Lewis of Longmont and Janice Marchman of Loveland, tasks the Colorado School of Public Health with analyzing implementation of a government-funded universal health system in Colorado and suggesting a bill to do that. This investigation would be led by a 20-member collaborative of health-care officials, advocates for various interest groups and two employer representatives, and the report must be submitted to the Legislature by the end of 2026.