Colorado Workers Comp Single Payer Plan Up For Vote This Fall
The vote for Colorado Workers Comp single payer plan will occur this fall. One of the major components of a 24-hour single payer plan is that Workers Comp may no longer exist inside this type of health plan.
Universal health care will be on the ballot in a major move by single payer advocates. ColoradoCareYes has gathered well over the minimum 100,000 petition signature to put single payer health on the ballot.
Why is the topic covered – it may be coming to a state near you as this is akin to the Oklahoma and Texas Opt Out Plans.
While this is not federalization of Workers Comp, the plan may look similar to ObamaComp if it ever came into existence. Colorado has been on the forefront of many issue lately including the non-medical legalization of marijuana.
Vermont disbanded their Universal Healthcare due to the overburden to the state’s budget. One of the striking parts of the amendment is that even if a citizen has their own healthcare policy, they would still have to pay the Colorado Care premiums – ouch!
Colorado’s Amendment 69 would also address Workers Compensation- but the medical part only. Employers would still have to buy indemnity only Workers Comp <<guessing a little on that one. Would Colorado allow a plan such as AFLAC to substitute for an indemnity policy?
Pinnacol Assurance of Colorado, of course, came out against measure due to the severe increase in employer taxes. Pinnacol functioned as a monopolistic type fund in Colorado for many years but then was privatized over the last decade.
If Amendment 69 is voted in, then it will be an interesting time in Colorado at the end of this year. All eyes will be on Colorado from both the healthcare and workers compensation industry. The Colorado Workers Comp single payer conundrum will be in an operational mode.
How would a WC carrier write an indemnity only policy and how would they control the medical treatment that the indemnity payments center on for an injured employee? There are so many WC questions with no answers.
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2 Responses
James,
I beat you to it. See my post: Colorado Gets Real on Workers’ Comp and Health Care http://wp.me/p2QJfz-Jgx
Yes, you did get to it before me. Thanks.