{"id":1298022,"date":"2026-05-10T06:15:27","date_gmt":"2026-05-10T12:15:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.reporterherald.com\/?p=1298022"},"modified":"2026-05-08T19:45:35","modified_gmt":"2026-05-09T01:45:35","slug":"letters-bill-could-drive-up-healthcare-costs-in-colorado","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.reporterherald.com\/2026\/05\/10\/letters-bill-could-drive-up-healthcare-costs-in-colorado\/","title":{"rendered":"Letters: Bill could drive up healthcare costs in Colorado"},"content":{"rendered":"

Bill could drive up healthcare costs in Colorado<\/h4>\n

We are seeing yet another bad idea by Polis and his legislature to continue driving up our healthcare costs in Colorado. There is a bill (Senate Bill 178) being promoted to address Colorado’s bankrupt healthcare insurance programs. In case you missed it, the companies affected are Anthem Blue Cross-Blue Shield, Cigna, United Health Care, CVS Aetna, and Kaiser Permanente. Each company will pay an $8 million fee (tax) into the system. They say it’s a one-time fee, but we all know progressives will demand continued tax increases to meet the ever increasing critical need.<\/p>\n

As expected, these companies will transfer the $8 million fee onto enrollees, while reassessing their ability to offer coverage in Colorado. We have already seen tech and home insurance companies fleeing the state because of these kinds of actions. Why isn’t there talk of going after rampant Medicaid fraud that is pervasive with all taxpayer-funded programs. Truth is, progressives don’t care about stopping fraud. It counters their goal of providing free (?) healthcare to all, regardless of status.<\/p>\n

Additionally, Polis and his legislature passed\/signed HB22-1289 in 2022. It’s described as “Seeks to address inequities in building a more inclusive state.” Sound like an unending taxpayer burden? You bet. Along with other benefits, it expanded Colorado Medicaid to cover illegal border jumpers. This debt load is yet another consequence of being a sanctuary state. Polis denies being a sanctuary state, but it’s obvious when looking at the long list of protections and generous benefits given to illegals. We continue following California’s bad ideas in driving Colorado into the left ditch with ever increasing taxes and regulations. Taxpayers are paying the price of bad decisions. Let your congressman know to not punish taxpayers further with bad ideas.<\/p>\n

Larry Gillam, Loveland<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

We are seeing yet another bad idea by Polis and his legislature to continue driving up our healthcare costs in Colorado.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":73,"featured_media":873161,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"_wpas_customize_per_network":false},"categories":[3067,49,46],"tags":[],"feature":[],"location":[124,125,249,255],"type-of-work":[],"coauthors":[3093],"class_list":["post-1298022","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-latest-headlines","category-letters-to-the-editor","category-opinion","location-colorado","location-front-range","location-larimer-county","location-loveland"],"post_status":"","edit_last":0,"edit_lock":0,"highlights":"","original_byline":"","original_canonical":"","original_category":"","original_email":"","original_id":0,"original_pubdate":"","original_source":"","primary_section":"49","primary_tag":0,"print_workflow_body":{"deck_headline":"Open forum","print_title":"Letters: Bill could drive up healthcare costs in Colorado","print_subheadline":"","print_planned_ready":"","print_pub_date":"1778392800","print_slug":"RHC-L-LETTERS-0510","print_budget_line":"","print_excerpt":"We are seeing yet another bad idea by Polis and his legislature to continue driving up our healthcare costs in Colorado.","print_notes":"","photo_limits":"Photo limits are: 1 featured image, 5 featured gallery images, 5 embedded gallery images and 5 in-article embedded images. Articles that exceed these limits will not export. Please adjust images to reflect these limits.","print_featured_gallery_richtext":"","print_inline_galleries_richtext":"","print_inline_images_richtext":"","print_content":"

Bill could drive up healthcare costs in Colorado<\/h4>

We are seeing yet another bad idea by Polis and his legislature to continue driving up our healthcare costs in Colorado. There is a bill (Senate Bill 178) being promoted to address Colorado's bankrupt healthcare insurance programs. In case you missed it, the companies affected are Anthem Blue Cross-Blue Shield, Cigna, United Health Care, CVS Aetna, and Kaiser Permanente. Each company will pay an $8 million fee (tax) into the system. They say it's a one-time fee, but we all know progressives will demand continued tax increases to meet the ever increasing critical need.<\/p>

As expected, these companies will transfer the $8 million fee onto enrollees, while reassessing their ability to offer coverage in Colorado. We have already seen tech and home insurance companies fleeing the state because of these kinds of actions. Why isn't there talk of going after rampant Medicaid fraud that is pervasive with all taxpayer-funded programs. Truth is, progressives don't care about stopping fraud. It counters their goal of providing free (?) healthcare to all, regardless of status.<\/p>

Additionally, Polis and his legislature passed\/signed HB22-1289 in 2022. It's described as \"Seeks to address inequities in building a more inclusive state.\" Sound like an unending taxpayer burden? You bet. Along with other benefits, it expanded Colorado Medicaid to cover illegal border jumpers. This debt load is yet another consequence of being a sanctuary state. Polis denies being a sanctuary state, but it's obvious when looking at the long list of protections and generous benefits given to illegals. We continue following California's bad ideas in driving Colorado into the left ditch with ever increasing taxes and regulations. Taxpayers are paying the price of bad decisions. Let your congressman know to not punish taxpayers further with bad ideas.<\/p>

Larry Gillam, Loveland<\/em><\/p>"},"print_workflow_exported_ts":"1778291154","print_workflow_exported_username":"Jackie 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