Colorado Public Option Bill On Track For February, Hospitals Float Alternative

One of the Colorado state representatives working to craft public option legislation tells Inside Health Policy the lawmakers are gathering input from key stakeholders and are on track to introduce a bill by mid-to-late February. The bill will draw from a controversial proposal unveiled last November that would mandate insurers and hospitals participate in the plan, yet the final bill is expected to have some significant differences, says Democratic Rep. Dylan Roberts.

Meanwhile, the hospital industry is hitting back hard on the proposal with mailers, advertisements and op-eds. Hospitals are floating an alternative idea to address high costs modeled after Massachusetts’ total cost of care approach, adopted by a handful of other states, that sets a yearly growth rate across all industries.

Read the full article here.