HC-05-3-Health Care Principles

All Coloradans must work together to help solve Colorado’s health care challenges. Consumers must assume greater responsibility for, and knowledge of, their health and health care choices.

Colorado State Government should enact policies, procedures and laws which assist the business and health care communities in identifying and implementing solutions.

Health insurance should be made more available and affordable, in order to minimize the number of uninsured by ensuring an efficiently functioning State Exchange and collaboration with the Colorado Department of Health Care Policy and Financing (HCPF) Medicaid Programs. Club 20 encourages the HCPF to continue promoting the program and to educate and encourage individuals on how to utilize resources in their area.

Government should fully fund its health care obligations (Medicare, Medicaid,) in order to prevent shifting the costs of its programs through the higher group and individual insurance costs to local communities and employers to reduce costs to uninsured or underinsured individuals.

All components of a patient’s total health care program to include all relevant pieces including (but not limited to) 1. Social Determinants of Health, 2. Mental and Behavioral Health Services, 3. Disease Management Programs and Population Health Management Programs, 4. Pharmaceutical Programs, and 5. Hospice and Palliative Care that will result in lower costs and a more efficient and effective health system in the long run should be encouraged and funded.

Because Coloradans and the Colorado State Legislature should have meaningful choices in health care, health plans should be encouraged to remain in, or return to, rural Colorado markets.

Coloradans should understand the full implications and consequences (both intended and unintended) of requirements and restrictions mandated by government, such as adverse selection, guarantee-issue policies, and mandated benefits by implementing a process to review proposed legislation, prior to passage, to determine costs and potential impacts on rural communities and to have results shared with the legislature prior to formal consideration of such legislation.

Alternative dispute resolution processes should be encouraged to ensure appropriate redress for citizens without promoting the practice of defensive medicine which adds unnecessary costs to the health care system and non-economic loss caps for damages awarded in medical malpractice lawsuits in order to encourage the affordability and availability of health care.

Both the general public and community leaders must have access to transparent health care data in order to be able to clearly identify their community’s unique health care challenges, understand the options available to them, and make informed decisions to arrive at sustainable and equitable health care solutions.

Optimize patient care throughout Colorado by enabling health care practitioners to provide care and service to the extent they are trained.

As a Baby Boomer Generation (over 65) demographic is growing and is anticipated to continue to grow for the next decade. Club 20 encourages support for policies that shall create effective health care services for these individuals and to ensure that representatives from rural areas shall be included in all organizations, task forces, etc. created to consider policy for this demographic.

Adopted 9/9/2005

Amended 9/ 11/ 2009

Amended 9/5/2014

Amended 5/29/2020

Amended 4/13/2023

Incorporates the following resolutions: