“With one giant gesture, Governor Bill Owens has swept the state insurance program for children of the working poor out of the dark ages and toward the light.”

- The Denver Post

Part of every citizen’s peace of mind is maintaining good health and knowing that you or your family will be okay if a serious illness strikes.  Governor Owens is actively seeking solutions to ensure availability of affordable health care options to Coloradans.

Gov. Owens greatly expanded the availability of state assistance to uninsured children to provide needed health care, and to uninsured women with breast and cervical cancer so they could receive treatment they could not otherwise afford. He also extended prenatal care to uninsured expecting mothers that could significantly improve the health of their child.

And Gov. Owens wants to help Colorado's employees and employers by fostering a vibrant and competitive health insurance market.  Such an environment will promote improved service and lower prices, and should encourage more businesses to provide insurance for their employees.  Colorado's employees and their employers should be able to find affordable plans that meet their needs, instead of going without coverage as too many do today.

Gov. Owens also seeks to help rural Coloradans by reforming Colorado's "small group" health insurance market.

Gov. Owens has:

·        Proposed, and the Legislature approved, $25.8 million in funding to expand critical prenatal care to low-income women who are uninsured.

·        Made important changes to Child Health Plan Plus (CHP+) that significantly reduced annual premiums, eliminated annual fees for families with incomes up to 150% of the federal poverty level, added a dental benefit, and established a premium holiday during the fall months to increase enrollment. Changes in CHP+ have resulted in a 66% increase in CHP+ enrollment.

·        Supported and signed legislation that will provide timely medical treatment to hundreds of low-income women who are diagnosed with breast and cervical cancer through Colorado’s early detection program. 

·        Signed legislation that promotes more affordable health plan options for small businesses; encourages consumer-driven health care through high deductible plans; and, increases access to health insurance for Coloradans in rural areas by making it easier to receive medical care across state lines and by allowing employers to contract with insurance carriers that are outside of the area that the employer and his or her workers reside.

·        Introduced a proposal to provide small businesses with the option to purchase a lower-cost basic health plan that is free of costly state mandates that the employer’s workers may not need or afford.  Under the Governor’s plan, small businesses could also purchase a lower-cost health plan if that is what their employees want and can afford. 

·        Introduced a proposal to expand health insurance to Colorado’s highest percentage group of uninsured—those between 18 and 24 years of age—by allowing non full-time students to be covered as a dependent under their parent’s health plan. 

·        Signed legislation helping the state to expand its PACE program to more Colorado communities.  The PACE program provides weak elderly Coloradans with comprehensive medical and social services at home.

·        Worked to improve the quality of nursing homes by fighting for 11 new employees who will provide better oversight of the care being given by Colorado nursing homes and more thoroughly and promptly investigate complaints.  Colorado also was selected as one of six states to participate in a pilot project that provides consumers with unprecedented data that they can use to compare nursing homes throughout Colorado.

·        Fought to use monies from the national tobacco settlement to help provide health insurance for children in low-income families, reduce children’s tobacco use, and provide first-time mothers with in-home visiting nurses.

·        Provided referral information in both English and Spanish about free or low-cost health care and related human service resources across the State through the Family Healthline.

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