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2020 Candidate Survey
Recently, the Colorado Foundation for Universal Health Care and Indivisible Colorado’s Health Action Team paired up to invite candidates for office to take a health care finance survey and scored them on their responses. Those who participated and answered questions with the highest level of support for Single Payer Improved Medicare for All (SPIMFA) at both federal and state level scored as Champions (bold print below). The remaining participants who are listed below are Supporters of SPIMFA at the federal and/or state level.
Please note candidates may not appear on this list if they did not participate in the survey. If a candidate who seeks to represent you does not appear on this list, reach out to them and ask about their health care policy position. All candidates know this issue is important to all voters. The following is the list of champion/supportive candidates. FYI, please note the survey itself at the end of the list of candidates. Click the links in the survey to learn more.
United States Senate
Diana Bray
Andrew Romanoff
Stephanie Rose Spaulding
United States House of Representatives
CD1 Charlie Winters
CD2 Joe Neguse
CD4 Ike McCorkle
CD5 Jillian Freeland
CD 6 Jaimie Kulikowsi
Colorado House
HD 03 Meg Froelich
HD 06 Nathan Adams
HD 06 Steven Woodrow
HD 07 Bernard Douthit
HD 07 Simon Maghakyan
HD 11 Karen McCormick
HD 12 Tracey Bernett
HD 12 Cynthia Martinez
HD 13 Judy Amabile
HD 21 Liz Rosenbaum
HD 22 Gabriel McArthur
HD 29 Amber Hott
HD 33 Amitai Gross
HD 40 John Ronquillo
HD 41 Maya Wheeler
HD 45 Katie Barrett
HD 48 Holly Herson
HD 49 Yara Zokaie
HD 57 Colin Wilhelm
HD 60 Lory Boydston
HD 63 Geneiveve Schneider
Colorado Senate
SD 10 Randal McCallian
SD 17 John Kelly
SD 17 Sonya Jaquez Lewis*
*Sponsored HB 19-1176 The Health Care Cost Savings Act
SD 31 Maria Orms
SD 35 Carlos Lopez
County Commissioners
Boulder, District 1 Clair Levy
Boulder, District 2 Marta Loachamin
Boulder, District 2 Jonathan Singer
Conejos, District 3 Larry Zaragoza
Douglas, District 3 Darien Wilson
Eagle, District 1 Matt Scherr
El Paso, District 3 Kenneth Schauer
Gilpin, District 3 Sandy Hollingsworth
Gilpin, District 1 Ronald Engels
Grand, District 2 Shanna Ganne
Huerfano, District 2 Carl Kennemer
Jefferson, District 2 Andy Kerr
Lake, District 3 Jeffrey Fiedler
Larimer, District 2 Kristin Stephens
Larimer, District 2 William Wright
Larimer, District 3 Kim Akeley Charron
Larimer, District 3 Jody ShadduckMcNally
Larimer, District 3 Karen Stockley
San Miguel, District 3 Kris Holstrom
CU Regent
District 2 David Gross
District 2 Callie Rennison
State Board of Education
District 1 Valentina Flores
RTD Director
District A Kate Williams
The 2020 Health Care Finance Survey
For the purposes of this survey the following definitions apply:
Single Payer Improved Medicare for All (SPIMFA) ( ) is a health care finance system in which the providers are in business for themselves, patients may choose their providers, and premiums are collected through taxes. Improved Medicare for All means that coverage is expanded to cover more services (such as behavioral health, vision, dental, and hearing coverage), regulate drug prices and eliminate the need for supplemental or gap insurance because deductibles, co-pays and co-insurance are eliminated. Examples include S.1129 Medicare for All ( ), sponsored by U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders, and H.R.1384 ( ), sponsored by U.S. Representative Pramila Jayapal.
Medicare for Some is a finance system that would provide consumers with a way to buy into Medicare before they turn age 65. Examples are Medicare X ( ), Sponsored by U.S. Senators Michael Bennet and Tim Kaine or Choose Medicare ( ), sponsored by U.S. Senators Chris Murphy, Dianne Feinstein, and Jeff Merkley.
For more information and recent news, see the following links/websites: , https://reut.rs/391GVoW
1) HB 1176 The Health Care Cost Savings Act of 2019 ( )
passed the Colorado Legislature with bipartisan support. It created a task force to study health care finance systems in order to determine which would be the most cost efficient and equitable way to pay for health care in Colorado. The report is due Sep 1, 2021. How likely are you to support acting on the evidence the study finds?
a) Very likely to support acting on the evidence reported by the task force
b) Somewhat likely to support acting on the evidence reported by the task force
c) Undecided
d) Somewhat likely to oppose acting on the evidence reported by the task force
e) Very likely to oppose acting on the evidence reported by the task force
2) Warren Buffett said in May 2017, “Medical costs are the tapeworm of American economic competitiveness.” The high cost and complexity of health insurance is a huge burden on American business and leaves them at a competitive disadvantage in the global marketplace. How likely are you to address this economic and administrative burden on American business by supporting Single Payer Improved Medicare for All which eliminates employer-based insurance?
a) Very likely to support SPIMFA, thereby eliminating employer-based insurance
b) Somewhat likely to support SPIMFA, thereby eliminating employer-based insurance
c) Undecided
d) Somewhat likely to oppose SPIMFA, thereby eliminating employer-based insurance
e) Very likely to oppose SPIMFA and eliminating employer-based insurance
3) “Of all of the forms of inequality, injustice in health care is the most shocking and inhumane.” – Martin Luther King, Jr. In 2019, there were 22 hospitals in rural Colorado ( ) operating at a deficit while Denver Metro Area hospitals earned over $2 billion in profits ( http://bit.ly/2GNgeIB ). A SPIMFA finance system would remove the incentive for profits, which is the main driver behind this inequity between urban and rural hospitals, among other factors (e.g. due to age and race). SPIMFA would include global budgeting for hospitals and incentives for health care professionals to work in underserved areas. How likely are you to support a SPIMFA finance system designed to address disparities in access to health care in Colorado?
a) Very likely to support a SPIMFA health care finance system
b) Somewhat likely to support a SPIMFA health care finance system
c) Undecided
c) Somewhat likely to oppose a SPIMFA health care finance system
d) Very likely to oppose SPIMFA health care finance system
4) Would you support a Colorado state-wide version of Single Payer Improved Medicare for All health care finance system?
a) Very likely to support
b) Somewhat likely to support
c) Undecided
4) Somewhat likely to oppose
5) Very likely to oppose
5) Would you support a national Single Payer Improved Medicare for All health care finance system
a) Very likely to support
b) Somewhat likely to support
c) Undecided
4) Somewhat likely to oppose
5) Very likely to oppose
6) What actions would you take as an elected official to provide simple, affordable health care for all for life?
a) Support legislation to create Single Payer Improved Medicare for all (SPIMFA) at the state level
b) Support legislation to create SPIMFA at the national level
c) Support a local resolution to urge federal officials to create SPIMFA at the national level
d) Support a local resolution to urge state officials to create SPIMFA at the state level
e) Support a ballot initiative to create SPIMFA at the state level
f) Support legislation to regulate insurance companies nationally so that affordable insurance is available to everyone.
