{"id":1317606,"date":"2020-01-09T13:55:06","date_gmt":"2020-01-09T20:55:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.postindependent.com\/?p=992484"},"modified":"2020-01-09T13:55:06","modified_gmt":"2020-01-09T20:55:06","slug":"polis-focuses-on-health-care-in-address-to-state-lawmakers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kske\/local-news\/polis-focuses-on-health-care-in-address-to-state-lawmakers\/","title":{"rendered":"Polis focuses on health care in address to state lawmakers"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n
Colorado Gov. Jared Polis chats with lawmakers before entering the House of Representatives to deliver his State of State speech in the State Capitol Thursday, Jan. 9, 2020, in Denver.<\/strong>
David Zalubowski\/AP photo<\/em><\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n

DENVER (AP) \u2014 Colorado Gov. Jared Polis urged lawmakers Thursday to join him in combat income inequality in a state where en economic boom has left too many behind, and he placed a particular emphasis on healthcare costs as crucial to that fight.<\/p>\n

Delivering his second state of the state address to a Legislature in the control of fellow Democrats, Polis threw his weight behind a drive to create a state-administered public option for health insurance.<\/p>\n

The idea is to generate more competition in a market where many rural residents have few options, even with the state health insurance exchange created under the Affordable Care Act.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen you have more choices as a consumer, insurance companies have to compete for your business, which means lower prices,\u201d Polis said.<\/p>\n

He challenged a hospital industry that is lobbying against a public option long before any tangible legislation has been introduced.<\/p>\n

Denver metropolitan-area hospitals, Polis claimed, reap some of the nation\u2019s highest profit margins \u2014 and are spending those dollars \u201cfrom overcharging patients to run ads against legislation that would save families money.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe won\u2019t let that work,\u201d he vowed.<\/p>\n

The four-month legislative session began Wednesday. The public option effort builds on a cost-reducing framework created last year that includes a reinsurance program designed to lower private insurance rates, hospital price transparency, pending efforts to import cheaper prescription drugs from abroad and consumer protections against surprise out-of-network medical bills.<\/p>\n

Polis declared his support for Democratic lawmakers who are reviving an effort to institute a prescription drug price transparency plan . Last year\u2019s efforts met intense opposition from the U.S. pharmaceutical industry and Colorado\u2019s largest business chambers. Their lead argument was a threat to the industry\u2019s trade secrets they need to stay competitive.<\/p>\n

He also committed to creating a paid family medical leave plan that doesn\u2019t strain the state\u2019s fiscal resources. Colorado business chambers fended off efforts to create a paid family leave program last year, questioning the cost to employers and workers and the fiscal soundness of the proposal. Democratic lawmakers intend to pursue a plan this year. Preliminary cost estimates surpass $2 billion.<\/p>\n

Polis committed to achieving universal preschool access by the end of his first term, building upon his efforts to make kindergarten accessible to all last year. He\u2019s long maintained early education investment is crucial to the state\u2019s prosperity.<\/p>\n

For college students, Polis backed a legislative proposal to provide partial student loan debt relief for new graduates under certain conditions.<\/p>\n

A successful tech entrepreneur and former U.S. congressman, Polis renewed his commitment to lowering corporate and personal income taxes. He said a study group will deliver proposals by the end of his first term.<\/p>\n

Democrats are pursuing legislation to strengthen air and water pollution monitoring and increase penalties against violators. It\u2019s a continuation of Polis\u2019 ambitious climate and renewable energy agenda that calls for a drastic reduction in Colorado greenhouse gas emissions in the coming decades.<\/p>\n

He stressed Thursday that the private sector is driving change on renewable energy. He applauded Thursday\u2019s announcement by Tri-State Generation, an electric utility, that it will replace coal power plants in Colorado and New Mexico with renewable power sources by 2030. He also backed efforts to allow local municipalities to contract their own renewable energy sources.<\/p>\n

Denver police and and state patrol officers detained several protesters who tried to disrupt the proceedings inside the Capitol by chanting anti-fracking slogans. Polis\u2019 administration has placed new regulations on, but not banned, Colorado\u2019s multibillion-dollar hydraulic fracturing industry.<\/p>\n

\n
\n
A Denver Police Department officer leads away one of several anti-fracking protesters who interrupted the State of State speech by Colorado Gov. Jared Polis in the State Capitol Thursday, Jan. 9, 2020, in Denver. (AP Photo\/David Zalubowski)<\/strong>
anti-fracking protesters, r m<\/em><\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

Citing climate change, Polis, a science fiction fan, closed with a quote from \u201cLord of the Rings\u201d protagonist Gandalf when Frodo, the main character, complains of having to save the world.<\/p>\n

Gandalf responded \u201cwith a charge that applies to us here in this chamber today,\u201d Polis said: \u201cAll we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given to us.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

via:: Post Independent<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Colorado Gov. Jared Polis chats with lawmakers before entering the House of Representatives to deliver his State of State speech in the State Capitol Thursday, Jan. 9, 2020, in Denver.David Zalubowski\/AP photo DENVER (AP) \u2014 Colorado Gov. Jared Polis urged lawmakers Thursday to join him in combat income inequality in a state where en economic […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[160],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1317606","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","category-local-news"],"acf":[],"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-09-06 05:53:45","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"distributor_meta":false,"distributor_terms":false,"distributor_media":false,"distributor_original_site_name":"KSKE Ski Country","distributor_original_site_url":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kske","push-errors":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kske\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1317606","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kske\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kske\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kske\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kske\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1317606"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kske\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1317606\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kske\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1317606"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kske\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1317606"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kske\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1317606"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}