Republican gubernatorial candidate Walker Stapleton outlined health care proposals Tuesday that would seek to better integrate mental health services into the primary care system, rein in Medicaid spending and allow for lower-cost insurance plans, including some providing less coverage.
Stapleton, the state treasurer, said his plans would simplify and streamline health care, while providing more options — including allowing healthy young people to buy “catastrophic” insurance plans that no longer are allowed under the basic insurance requirements of the Affordable Care Act. As governor, he would seek a waiver from the federal government for Colorado to allow bare-bones or shorter-term plans, among other options.
But his proposal says that all new plans still would have to cover pre-existing conditions, allow young adults stay on their parents’ health insurance and have options for coverage of maternity care.
Stapleton’s plans contrast sharply with those put out so far by Democrat Jared Polis, who released a “100-day Roadmap” to reduce health care costs on Monday. That plan didn’t contain what Polis has said is his ultimate objective: to bring a single-payer health care system to Colorado.
“While Congressman Polis wants to implement government-run, one-size-fits-all health care, I want to create more affordable options for Coloradans,” Stapleton said through his campaign. “Although our current system is not perfect, moving to single-payer will hurt Coloradans and destroy Colorado’s economy. Instead, we should fix what is wrong with Colorado health care and work together to lower costs and improve the quality of care.”
The plans also include encouraging more options for preventative and primary care across the board — such as more use of phone consultations, mobile clinics and other models that could be expanded through incentives to providers.
Polis’ campaign responded Tuesday by calling Stapleton’s proposals vague and pointing to the Republican’s past comments about the Affordable Care Act.
“Walker Stapleton has stood with Donald Trump repeatedly in his crusade to take health care away from hundreds of thousands of Coloradans, while driving up the cost for the rest of us,” said a statement from Polis spokeswoman Mara Sheldon. “Walker Stapleton has campaigned on rolling back the Medicaid expansion — which would threaten coverage for 1.4 million Coloradans on Medicaid — and eliminating our insurance exchange, which would throw our health care system into chaos and raise health costs.”
Polis’ near-term plans, as outlined Monday, include beefing up consumer protections, creating a system to import lower-cost prescription drugs from Canada — a move that likely would require federal approval — and reform of the state’s health insurance zones.
On that last point, there is agreement between the candidates that something must be done. They differ on how to do it.
Residents of rural Colorado have paid some of the highest insurance premiums in the country. This, along with rising costs in urban areas, has made health care affordability among the biggest issues in the governor’s race.
Stapleton’s new plan says a task force would evaluate the insurance zones, including their geographic boundaries, but he wouldn’t support moving to a statewide rating zone. Polis, though, says he’d direct state officials to explore “a single geographic rating system.”
The Republican’s campaign portrays insufficient mental health care as a large driver of costs in the larger health care system, in part because many mental health issues go undiagnosed. Stapleton’s plan cites progress made under Gov. John Hickenlooper, a Democrat, on increasing access to mental health services, including by helping primary-care clinics to make room for mental-health providers on site. It says Stapleton would build on those efforts without creating new mandates for insurers or providers.
The Republican’s plan calls for another task force focused on rooting out waste, fraud and abuse within Colorado’s Medicaid system, which at $9.4 billion consumed a third of state spending last year.
