Gov. Polis Unveils Roadmap to Lowering Health Care Costs

DENVER, Colorado, April 4 -- Gov. Jared Polis, D-Colorado, issued the following news:

Gov. Polis today joined by Lt. Gov. Primavera and a variety of stakeholders unveiled the Polis-Primavera Roadmap to Saving Coloradans Money on Health Care. This roadmap outlines short and long-term action steps that will begin to reduce patient costs and improve the health care system overall.

"Health care costs too much," said Governor Jared Polis. "No Coloradan should have to go without care because they can't afford it. This roadmap will be our guide to saving people money on healthcare and ensuring better access to affordable care for everyone in our state."

Colorado has taken significant steps to increase access to health care and insurance coverage during the past decade. As a result, today only 6.5 percent of Coloradans don't have health insurance compared to 15.8 percent in 2013. Despite this improvement, the cost of care has been increasing at an alarming rate, especially in rural areas and mountain communities.

"When you're sick, the only thing you should have to think about is getting better," said Lieutenant Governor Dianne Primavera. "Too many Coloradans have to worry about caring for themselves or a loved one, as well as whether or not they can pay the bills. Our roadmap puts us on a path toward lower health care costs for all Coloradans."

Short term action steps include increasing hospital price transparency, establishing a reinsurance pool to reduce premiums, negotiating to drive down the cost of health insurance, lowering the cost of prescription drugs, and reducing out-of-pocket costs. Long-term steps include launching a state-backed insurance option, rewarding prevention in primary care, increasing access to healthy foods, and more.

For more details and for the full roadmap, click here (https://www.colorado.gov/governor/sites/default/files/roadmapdoc.pdf).