As we Durangoans are immersed in the inevitable onslaught of campaign ads and polling calls in the final month of campaign season, we need to ensure the candidates for governor and state Legislature prioritize solutions to address the rising cost of health insurance, particularly in rural Colorado.
The status quo simply cannot continue. The cost of health insurance on the individual market has been out of control for several years and is steadily moving toward a death spiral, as healthy consumers continue to drop out due to ever-increasing premiums, and those left in the plan are sicker and more expensive to cover.
According to the Colorado Division of Insurance, the issue is being felt statewide with premium increases of 20 percent in metro Denver and up to 48 percent in some regions of the Western Slope, eastern Plains and the San Luis Valley.
I know because I am one of those statistics.
My husband and I are without health insurance. My student loans consume half of my monthly income. Health insurance is out of the question. If I were stricken with appendicitis, it would be catastrophic to my personal finances. Fellow Coloradans are consumed with medical and credit card bills as a result of paying premiums. We must put partisanship aside and act by voting.
High–cost health premiums are impeding people’s ability to save for retirement, buy a home, secure child care and save for college. Some are working under the table or turning away work to stay below the 40-percent-of-poverty threshold for the subsidy.
Waiting on the federal government to solve the issue is not realistic. Fan or foe of Obamacare, it is the law of the land. Sadly, Congress cannot seem to put aside partisan differences to find solutions that address problems and move forward.
And so, it falls to the states and the local elected officials to fill the void. Colorado can look to many solutions to stabilize their individual markets including high-risk reinsurance, high-cost subsidy programs, local buying co-ops and other approaches.
As you listen to the ads, read the info and take polls, be sure to ask “What will this candidate do to decrease health care costs?” We need leaders who truly put this issue top of the agenda and work together to ensure that Colorado citizens’ access to affordable quality health care is not dependent upon their zip code.
Kelly Polites
Bayfield
