Democrats Push Healthcare Cost “Fix” That Adds Mandates and Fees

Colorado Democrat lawmakers are once again looking to “fix” healthcare costs by adding more mandates and fees to the system. SB26-178, now advancing in the state legislature, expands the role and requirements of “Health Insurance Navigators” and changes how insurance coverage is delivered.

The bill sponsors are trying to sell it as increasing access. In reality it’s doubling down on the same approach that helped create the problem in the first place by layering $40 million in new fees on health insurers, along with more red tape.

Here’s the issue: access to insurance and access to care are not the same thing. You can hand someone a policy card, but if providers are leaving the state or can’t afford to operate under these mandates, that “access” doesn’t mean much.

Every new requirement placed on insurers gets passed downstream. The result is higher premiums, fewer options, and ultimately fewer providers willing to stay in Colorado. We’ve already seen doctors and specialists leave states with aggressive mandates. This bill pushes us further in that direction.

It also ignores basic economics.

When you force insurance plans to cover everything for everyone, regardless of actual risk, costs go up. Period. We’ve reached the point where people are paying for coverage that doesn’t even apply to them. The system has become distorted.

Insurance works by pricing risk. The more risk you force into the system, the more expensive it becomes for everyone.

We need accountability. Currently lifestyle choices that clearly impact healthcare costs, such as smoking, are treated the same as everything else.

At some point, we have to decide whether we want a system that actually delivers care, or one that just keeps layering on mandates until it collapses under its own weight.

This bill moves us in the wrong direction.

Sources:
https://leg.colorado.gov/bills/sb26-178

Bill seeks $40 million in fees from health insurers to fund subsidy programs