Healthcare Action Team: Future Focus

What areas of Healthcare reform are especially important to our APA members?   Where and how should we focus?

• Medicare privatization
• Abortion rights
• COVID recovery
• Cost of Health Care
• Privatization of doctors/clinics/mental health/hospitals for profit
• Other topics?

Draft Healthcare Bill: Ballot Measure?

The Legislature will refer to the November 2023 ballot a measure to authorize the creation of an enterprise to pay for our health care in Colorado that will build on the following essential criteria:

• It shall provide comprehensive benefits for medically necessary care, including dental, hearing, vision, and mental health.
• It shall provide home care and long-term care at least at the level of coverage currently available to Medicaid-eligible persons in Colorado.
• Health care decisions shall be made by patients and their health care providers.
• Patients shall have free choice among qualified providers. 
• To address health care disparities, it shall cover all Colorado residents.
• The system and the cost of care shall be funded by premiums based on ability to pay.
• Health care shall be pre-paid by premiums, with no deductibles or copays that create barriers to care. 
• The agency shall ensure fair drug and hospital prices as well as fair payment to providers. 
• It shall be a publicly administered nonprofit enterprise and the sole agency paying for Colorado’s health care costs.
• To avoid profiteering, there shall be no middlemen with the incentives and power to limit benefits or impose other barriers to care.

 ______________________________________________________________

Action Item Discussion for the Healthcare Bill

• Will you reach out to others you know to support these essential efforts?
• Seek out and educate legislators to be co-sponsors / supporters – Contact Jim Potter JamesRaymondPotter@gmail.com 
• Participate in Grassroots Actions – Contact Elaine Branjord ebranjord@gmail.com 
• Volunteer to help with Social Media – Contact Patricia Rice parice@msn.com

ACO REACH

Accountable Care Organization is another attempt to privatize Medicare 

See page 113 on the Medicare & You 2022 book for more information. It is a hybrid – not a Medicare Advantage plan – a group of doctors, hospitals, and other providers to give more integrated care.  Beware, though! This is another attempt to privatize Medicare. 

The Biden administration is expanding a Trump scheme that is forcing hundreds of thousands of seniors onto for-profit health plans.

https://www.levernews.com/seniors-medicare-benefits-are-being-privatized-without-consent/

Additional Actions and Articles:

• Sign COUHCF petition! https://secure.everyaction.com/tygqPo3kz0-wuiLLqg8ltw2 
• Check out How Coloradans Feel about Affordability and Healthcare Reform
  • Here’s a link to an important recent health care survey. or

https://cohealthinitiative.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/CO-affordability-survey-brief-2022.pdf

• Key finding: Coloradans want big, fundamental changes from the government on healthcare

Next APA Healthcare Action Team meeting on Sept 9, 2022