ColoradoCare is an amendment Coloradans will be asked to consider in the November election.

“One of the ways of describing ColoradoCare is ‘Medicare for All,'” said Donna Young, local spokesperson for the amendment. “This idea of universal health care, which means everyone is covered, is what has driven the people behind ColoradoCare.”

ColoradoCare would be funded with federal funds available through Affordable Care Act waivers granted to states that can innovate with their own plans to achieve or surpass the goals of the ACA, by Medicaid waivers, and by a Health Care Premium Tax on payroll and non payroll income collected by the Department of Revenue. Employees would pay 3.33 percent of their income, in lieu of what they pay for insurance now, and employers would pay 6.67 percent of payroll, in lieu of what they currently pay now, Young said. The medical portion of workman’s compensation would be covered.

“For 80 percent of people in Colorado, it will actually cost you less money,” Young said. “This plan will have no copays for primary and preventative care, if you are going to a specialist, there will probably be a low co-pay.”

Coloradans would continue to be covered if they temporarily travel out of state and need medical care.

“This plan does not hire the doctors, it just pays the bills,” Young said.

She said people may hear opposition from insurance and pharmaceutical companies, and even politicians, who think this is not a good idea, so people should become informed and decide for themselves.

“You are going to hear that it is going to increase our taxes by $25 billion a year,” Young said, “but what they don’t tell you is the rest of the truth is we are not going to be paying that $31 billion that we are paying now.”

Young said if ColoradoCare is approved by voters in November, it would save cities and counties a great deal of money in what they pay their employees for medical insurance and workman’s compensation. She said it would save Cañon City $881,000 a year and Fremont County $1.6 million annually.

Some people are on board with the ballot measure, but some remain skeptical. Sharyn Baker is neither for nor against it, she just wants more concrete information. She has read the amendment and studied the issue.

“I think there are a lot of issues that remain unanswered,” she said. “Let’s just imagine, for example, if a Republican wins the White House, this is going to be a huge mess, this whole health-care issue is going to be a huge mess.”

She feels the amendment may be a bit premature, but she will continue to research the issue and gather as much information as she can before making up her mind.

Ron Scoles worked to gather signatures last year to get the amendment on the ballot.

“I had a lot of questions on it from people, but I met a lot of people who were all for it,” he said. “People want to see better health care than what we have right now.”

He said his mother has been denied services, but ColoradoCare would pay for what she needs.

“It would help someone like her out a lot,” he said.

Young said there are 350,000 people in Colorado who are uninsured, and those who are insured are either underinsured or their rates are increasing.

ColoradoCare will eliminate insurance company profits, reduce providers’ administrative costs, provide better preventative care, reduce the high cost of the uninsured and reduce fraud. She said from 1970 to 2010, the number of physicians has not increased dramatically, but the number of administrators has.

For more information, visit www.ColoradoCare.org. To view the amendment in its entirety, visit http://bit.ly/1M7VS6O. Those interested in talking to Young may call her at 275-3831. There also will be a presentation at 3:30 p.m. March 18 at the Cañon City Public Library, 516 Macon Ave.

Carie Canterbury: 719-276-7643, canterburyc@canoncitydailyrecord.com