USofCare applauds Colorado policymakers and Governor Polis for championing affordable health care for people

February 17, 2021 – Today, Colorado’s Governor, Jared Polis, gave the annual State Of The State address and specifically highlighted the Centennial State’s critical effort to expand access to quality, affordable health care:

And we look forward to adding an affordable Colorado Option that will give Coloradans — especially in rural communities — more choice and savings, when it comes to selecting a health care plan. I thank Representatives Roberts and Mullica and Senator Donovan for their ongoing leadership on saving people money on health care.

Colorado Governor Jared Polis

At United States of Care, we applaud in-state leadership like the Colorado Option. Especially in the wake of the pandemic, it’s critical that states pursue improvements that prioritize access to affordable, quality health care. Across the country, 84% of the public – including 54% strongly – support building a better, more equitable health care system.

Colorado faces many of the same issues as states across the country, with large groups of its citizens feeling they currently don’t have good access to affordable care. In a recent survey, we found that 44% of all Coloradans feel this way, with even higher numbers in rural areas and communities of color.

Importantly, 80% of Coloradans believe it is more important that we make changes to the current health care system in light of the pandemic. This is true across the ideological spectrum with 94% of Democrats who believe it is important, 78% of Independents, and even 64% of Republicans. Just 11% of Colorado voters want to keep the current system as it is.

We are glad to see Colorado leading the way on meeting its citizens’ needs and we encourage states across the country to follow suit, crafting policy that makes meaningful strides toward expanding health care access and increasing its quality.