May 16th, 2019 – Sponsored by Colorado State Representatives Dylan Roberts and Marc Catlin and Senator Kerry Donovan, House Bill 1004, The Proposal For Affordable Health Coverage Option was sent to Governor Jared Polis’ desk for signature on May 2nd.
This proposal received a lot of fan fare, but let’s dig into what it is and isn’t.
First off, House Bill 1004 will not create a public option in Colorado. The bill calls for a detailed proposal of what a public option in Colorado would look like. More speficially, “the bill requires a proposal be submitted concerning the design, costs, benefits and implimentation of a state option for health care coverage.”
While there is talk of House Bill 1004 being used principally to provide more competition in many parts of rural Colorado that may have just one insurance carrier offering coverage to individuals today, there is no language about it being limited to any geographic areas in the bill itself. Therefore, it appears the proposal will be for a state wide public insurance option.
Timing wise, the resulting summary of the Proposal For Affordable Health Coverage Option is to be presented before the 2020 legislative session.
