ColoradoCare authors have not considered the military retirees who have dedicated their lives to serving our country. If passed, Colorado will become one of the least military-friendly states.
Amendment 69 would strip military retirees of their earned health care benefits. As a retired Air Force colonel, I’m covered by Medicare and secondarily by Tricare for Life, which serves as a supplemental insurance policy covering prescriptions and most costs not otherwise covered by Medicare. ColoradoCare would force retirees to forego service benefits earned by putting our lives on the line for this country, and force us to pay significantly more in taxes.
I’ve expressed my concerns to ColoradoCare officials, and in an email, Bill Semple of info@coloradocare.org said:
“During the two to three years it will take for ColoradoCare to be ready to go live, it will be important for ColoradoCare to have the (sic) negotiations with Tricare so the significant savings that ColoradoCare will provide can be shared with Tricare and veterans. ColoradoCare is still a legal hypothetical. At this point we can’t negotiate, and can’t promise the outcome of the negotiations. The fundamental goal of ColoradoCare is to fix a way of paying for health care that is profoundly broken for most Coloradans – costing too much and providing poor outcomes, despite some great health care providers. ColoradoCare will cover every resident, we’ll spend $4.5 billion less a years (sic), and take ownership of how we pay for care. We need to be liberated from the insurance companies that are doing very well for themselves, but not serving Colorado well.”
Military retirees have earned their health care through TRICARE For Life as a result of dedicated service to our country. ColoradoCare would strip us of this hard-earned benefit and result in our paying significantly higher taxes. My health outcomes have all been highly satisfactory through the Medicare and Tricare for Life system. Military retirees especially should vote “No” on Amendment 69 to protect what they’ve earned through military service to our country.
Joe Hannigan
Pagosa Springs
