Dive Brief:
- Single-payer health will be up for a vote in Colorado in fall 2016 after the group ColoradoCareYES collected more than 100,000 signatures to qualify it for the ballot.
- While Obamacare has halved Colorado’s uninsured rate, there remain many who still don't have insurance or struggle to cover their premiums and out-of-pocket costs, advocates say.
- Key stakeholders have yet to state a position on the measure, including state health insurers, the state's hospital association and Gov. John Hickenlooper (D).
Dive Insight:
The vote may primarily come down to the issue of the massive tax hike a single-payer system would necessitate, and the potential that would have to dissuade businesses and young people from the state, detractors say.
The system would be funded by an employer payroll tax of almost 7%, an employee tax of 3% or more of gross pay, and a self-employed tax 10% of annual net income, which would raise about $25 billion. The plan's likely to be a hard sell in Colorado, where voters haven't approved a statewide tax increase for more than 20 years on anything besides marijuana or tobacco.
Opponents also argue the measure would give too much power and taxing authority to the plan's governing board without sufficient oversight to ensure transparency.