Bennet, a loyal Obamacare champion, has been awfully quiet about his position on Initiative 20, a proposal for a Colorado-based single-payer heath care plan expected to be placed on the 2016 ballot.
Based on his strong endorsement and record of support for a public option, a Bennet-backed single-payer health care plan is no stretch for the imagination.
Coloradans deserve to know:
Does Michael Bennet support single-payer health care in Colorado?
Perhaps Bennet has been quiet because his support for Obamacare has not exactly been yielding positive press lately. Earlier this month it was reported that Colorado HealthOP—Colorado’s largest nonprofit health insurer—is closing, leaving nearly 83,000 Coloradans to find new insurance. This is the same program that Bennet touted in 2013 and follows Bennet’s 2009 assurance to voters that if they liked their health care plan, they could keep it, stating, “We will not take those choices away from you.”
BACKGROUND
In October 2015, The ColoradoCareYes Campaign Delivered A Petition To The Secretary Of State’s Office For Initiative 20, A Proposal For A “Colorado-Based Single-Payer HealthCare Plan” To Be Placed On The 2016 Ballot. “Initiative 20, a proposal for a Colorado-based single-payer healthcare plan, moves a step closer to the 2016 ballot Friday morning when the campaign called ColoradoCareYes delivers petition signatures to the Secretary of State’s Office. Then the waiting game begins for the elections office to determine whether at least 98,492, the required number, are valid signatures from registered voters. The threshold to get on the ballot represents 5 percent of the total number of votes cast in the last secretary of state’s race.” (Joey Bunch, “ColoradoCare Petition Signatures To Be Delivered Friday, Rallies Follow,” The Denver Post’s The Spot, 10/21/15)
- “ColoradoCare Would Replace ObamaCare’s Connect For Health Colorado Insurance Exchange” And Would Be Paid For With A 10 Percent “Premium Tax” On Payrolls Or Other Income. “ColoradoCare would replace Obamacares’s Connect for Health Colorado insurance exchange, which ColoradoCare supporters say is too expensive. ColoradoCare would be paid for with a 10 percent “premium tax” on payrolls or other income.” (Joey Bunch, “ColoradoCare Petition Signatures To Be Delivered Friday, Rallies Follow,” The Denver Post’s The Spot, 10/21/15)
Bennet: “We Should Begin With A Basic Principle: If You Have Coverage And You Like It, You Can Keep It. We Will Not Take That Choice Away From You.”BENNET: “We should begin with a basic principle: if you have coverage and you like it, you can keep it. If you have your doctor, and you like him or her, you should be able to keep them, as well. We will not take those choices away from you.” (Sen. Michael Bennet, Congressional Record, 6/11/09, p. S6488)
In April 2013, Michael Bennet Touted Colorado HealthOP As “A Unique, Consumer-Driven Solution” And Said “Greater Access To New Options Will Help Individuals, Families And Employers Choose Plans That Better Suit Their Specific Needs.” “‘Colorado HealthOP is a unique, consumer-driven solution,” said U.S. Senator Michael Bennet of Colorado. “Increased competition in the health insurance marketplace – particularly as the marketplace comes online in October – can only benefit Colorado. Greater access to new options will help individuals, families and employers choose plans that better suit their specific needs.’” (Colorado HealthOP, “Colorado HealthOP Approved To Offer Consumer Operated And Oriented Health Insurance Beginning October 1,” Press Release, 4/29/13)
Bennet: “I Fought Hard For The Inclusion Of A Public Option In The Legislation To Expand Patient Choice And To Help Hold Insurance Companies Accountable For Providing Affordable, Quality Coverage.” (Ed Sealover, “DBJ Interview: What Bennet Will Do For Business,” Denver Business Journal, 11/3/10)
Bennet: “Including A Public Option In Our Final Health Care Reform Legislation Will Make That Bill Far More Effective.” (Senator Michael Bennet, Op-Ed, “Save The Public Option,” The Huffington Post, 2/16/10)
Bennet Voted For The Cloture Motion To Begin Debate On ObamaCare. (H.R. 3590, Roll Call Vote #353: Cloture Motion Agreed To 60-39, 11/21/09, Bennet Voted Yea; CQ Summary, Accessed 9/16/15)
Bennet Voted For Cloture On ObamaCare. (H.R. 3590, Roll Call Vote #395: Motion Agreed to 60-39, 12/23/09, Bennet Voted Yea)
Bennet Voted For The Senate’s Version Of ObamaCare. (H.R. 3590, Roll Call Vote #396: Passed 60-39, 12/24/09, Bennet Voted Yea)
Bennet Voted For The Final Health Care Reconciliation Bill. (H.R. 4872, Roll Call Vote #105: Passed 56-43, 3/25/10, Bennet Voted Yea)