In a health care landscape defined by rising premiums, shrinking access and growing uncertainty, Southwest Colorado has received a rare piece of good news.
On Monday, Jan. 26, the Colorado School of Public Health secured the full $750,000 required to launch the research mandated by Senate Bill 25-045 – a Colorado-specific analysis of how health care is paid for and whether a universal payment system could work in this state.
This milestone matters not because it settles a debate, but because it finally equips Colorado with better facts.
SB25-045 does not implement single-payer health care, raise taxes or spend state general fund dollars. Instead, it directs the Colorado School of Public Health to analyze draft model legislation for a universal health care payment system that is publicly financed and privately delivered, using real claims data, provider reimbursement analysis, and explicit attention to rural access, workforce retention and long-term care, while also evaluating other pathways to universal coverage.
That focus distinguishes this effort from earlier ones. Colorado voters rejected a single-payer ballot initiative in 2016. A legislative study authorized in 2019 and released in 2021 compared the cost of the current system, a public option and single payer – concluding that a single-payer approach could cover everyone at lower overall cost. But it stopped short of implementation detail, leaving unanswered how payment would work, how rural hospitals would fare, and how long-term care would be financed.
Efforts to take that next step stalled again in 2023 and 2024, largely due to fiscal concerns. What changed this year was the bill’s structure. SB25-045 advanced precisely because it carried no fiscal impact to the state. As Sen. Cleave Simpson (R-Alamosa), the only Republican to support the bill, has explained, the absence of public funding made it easier to say yes to gathering better information. “I don’t think this is the right answer,” he said, “but I’m willing to be more informed.” He has also said that hearing from respectful, engaged constituents across the region mattered, and for that willingness to listen and support the legislation, he deserves thanks.
The $750,000 funds the base study, a deeper analysis of long-term care financing, and access to Colorado’s all-payer claims database – the backbone for understanding where health care dollars actually go.
More than 150 donors contributed statewide, ranging from $15 to $100,000, including Richard Ballantine, chair of Ballantine Communications, Inc. Notably, roughly 28% of the funding came from Southwest Colorado, an outsized contribution from a rural region.
That outcome reflects sustained local leadership. Karen Zink, a longtime nurse practitioner and founder of Southwest Women’s Health, stepped forward when the funding gap became clear. Her concern – echoed by many providers – is practical: enormous sums circulate through health care without reaching patient care, while rural clinics and hospitals struggle to remain viable. She has described this as an economic tragedy rooted in the need to care for everyone in the community: when people cannot afford health care, they cannot stay healthy enough to work or become the teachers, firefighters, nurses, plumbers and electricians that local communities depend on.
Her husband, Jerry Zink, reflects the same community ethic through his work at Sunnyside Meats, strengthening local food security by supporting ethically processed, locally sourced meat that promotes healthier diets and keeps production and food dollars close to home (Journal, Jan. 14). Health care, like food, is foundational to community health.
The urgency is growing. Congressional Republicans’ failure to renew Affordable Care Act tax credits has triggered premium increases exceeding 100% for many individuals and families. Meanwhile, provisions of H.R. 1 threaten coverage, Medicaid funding and rural provider stability, and Republicans have yet to offer a comprehensive alternative plan.
Gov. Jared Polis has long argued that a national solution would be most effective. He may be right. But national paralysis is not a strategy. Vermont, like Colorado, has explored state-level paths not because it prefers going alone, but because waiting has costs.
SB25-045 does not predetermine an outcome. It creates a foundation for informed choice. In a system that too often operates on ideology, lobbying power or fear, that alone is meaningful progress – and Southwest Colorado helped make it happen.
