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Governor’s Dialogue on Health Care Vision and Values
 The Trust supported Colorado Governor Bill Ritter, Jr. in his efforts to convene, inform and engage people in a conversation about how they view the state’s health care system and how they believe it can be made more efficient, accessible and affordable. Over 400 leaders from the business, civic and health care sectors came together in 11 meetings across the state, including Alamosa, Aurora, Colorado Springs, Denver, Durango, Fort Collins, Grand Junction, Lamar, Pueblo, Sterling and Westminster. A twelfth meeting convened 45 health care advocacy organizations to inform the advocates of the Governor’s dialogue process, collect their input and discuss future collaboration for health reform.
These conversations were detailed in the report, Governor’s Dialogue on Health Care Vision and Values. The convenings and report complemented the work of the Blue Ribbon Commission for Health Care Reform and provided further input to the Ritter Administration in setting a course for health policy change.
COMMUNITY MEMBER VIEWS
“The responsibility for health care should be shared. It would be really easy just to shift the burden to those who are currently uninsured and thus disenfranchised. We must not blame the victims. State government has a big role to play due to federal inaction. But government does not have to run health care. It could be a public-private partnership like SCHIP, where government assists with funding and regulation. Given the current reality, it is unrealistic to think that everyone will have access to every health care service. People should have unlimited access to prevention and acute care, but overall there needs to be a fair and ethical process to establish boundaries around what is covered. At the end of the day we need to be able to look ourselves in the mirror and say we did the best we could with what we had.”
Steve Federico, M.D., Pediatrician, Denver
“Everyone who lives in Colorado should be covered. I think the role of government is threefold: structure incentives for employers so that all employees can be insured; develop insurance for the uninsured; and set up a trust fund for unusual, high-cost catastrophic cases with the goal of reducing rates so that employers could afford to insure additional individuals. Employers should be expected to provide insurance for their employees and their families. Individuals should expect that a portion of their wages will go to cover health costs. The days of full coverage at no cost are simply not sustainable. Those who can’t afford insurance should be covered by a basic state plan supported by taxpayers. That way, they wouldn’t have to go to emergency rooms for care, as they are forced to do now.”
David Van Sant, Superintendent of Schools, Strasburg
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