ColoradoCare Backers Want Bernie Sanders' Help. Will He Pitch In? In a story that broke on Wednesday, John Daly of Colorado Public RadioSanders reports that the campaign to pass Amendment #69, ColoradoCare, universal health care for Coloradans though an enhanced “medicare for all” system, is appealing to Senator Sanders himself for a personal endorsement and some campaign appearances.
An intriguing possibility, it would only be appropriate for Senator Sanders to campaign for the measure. After all, ColoradoCare is authorized under a Sanders-supported amendment to the ACA, Section 1332, which allows states -- come 2017 -- to implement alternative systems to Obamacare, provided they offer the same breadth of coverage and get the federal government’s approval under so-called “Section 1332 waivers.”
Like the community health centers Senator Sanders supported, his support for the waivers was connected to his commitment to the single-payer model.
During his campaign for the Democratic nomination for President, Senator Sanders repeatedly came out strongly in favor in favor of universal health care, saying:
“Health care should be a right of all people, not a privilege. This is not a radical idea…. That is why I believe in a Medicare-for-all, single-payer health-care system. Yes. The Affordable Care Act, which I helped write and voted for, is a step forward for this country. But we must build on it and go further.
Medicare for all would not only guarantee health care for all people, not only save middle-class families and our entire nation significant sums of money, it would radically improve the lives of all Americans and bring about significant improvements in our economy.
People who get sick will not have to worry about paying a deductible or making a co-payment. They could go to the doctor when they should, and not end up in the emergency room. Business owners will not have to spend enormous amounts of time worrying about how they are going to provide health care for their employees. Workers will not have to be trapped in jobs they do not like simply because their employers are offering them decent health insurance plans.
Instead, they will be able to pursue the jobs and work they love, which could be an enormous boon for the economy. And, by the way, moving to a Medicare-for-all program will end the disgrace of Americans paying, by far, the highest prices in the world for prescription drugs.”
ColoradoCare maps exactly to the Senator’s vision. And they said medicare-for-all was pie in the sky. Funny, because it is almost here in Colorado! All it needs are a majority of the votes in November.
I am voting for ColoradoCare because I know how and why it works to accomplish the trifecta of covering everyone, improving care and saving billions. I understand that it is better for patients, providers and the economy – better for people. ColoradoCare Yes polls well ahead of ColoradoCare No with informed voters who know the facts. Senator Sanders is an excellent candidate to break through the noise and clutter of the Presidential election and get those facts across to Coloradans.