Harry Michaels

Think of the many things we take for granted today that we wouldn’t have without a strong tradition of policy and legislation enacted for the common good. Clean air and water, equal rights for all, wage and hour laws, local, state and national parks, universal public education, and Medicare, just to name a few. Behind the realization of all of these milestones in our nation’s progress was the notion that we are inescapably linked to each other and what is hurtful to some in our society is hurtful to us all.

Coloradans have a great opportunity to carry on the tradition of the common good by voting yes for Amendment 69 on Nov. 8. It would establish a payment delivery system for health care called ColoradoCare, similar to Medicare. Using the cooperative business model (think credit unions, rural electric cooperatives, and the Green Bay Packers), every Colorado resident would have access to affordable health care. Like Medicare, it would be paid for by a payroll tax whereby the employer and employee each pay a share. A nonprofit system will save billions of dollars each year by eliminating the middleman insurance companies, resulting in no deductibles and lower premiums for 80 percent of Coloradans.

Beware of the myths being propagated by the medical industrial complex:

“ColoradoCare is government run socialism.” Fact: ColoradoCare will not be run by a state or local government and as a result will be free from political meddling. It will be owned by all Coloradans with an elected Board of Trustees to oversee it. All providers will be in the private sector, not employed by the government.

Or: “ColoradoCare will cost taxpayers $25 billion dollars the first year, almost as much as the annual state budget.” Fact: The $25 billion comes from a premium tax on payroll. Coloradans are already paying more than $30 billion in premiums to insurance companies. Replacing these with ColoradoCare will, for the great majority, lower the cost and eliminate deductibles.

To get the truth about ColoradoCare and how much it will actually cost you, click “Calculate your Savings” under the “For You” tab at ColoradoCare.org.

Harry Michaels, Fort Collins