Healthcare Platform
- Access to healthcare is a human right that must be affordable and available to all.
- Preventive healthcare services are key to ensuring optimal health care and wellness
- Health disparities must be eliminated
- Effective, quality healthcare services are culturally proficient and linguistically appropriate
- Healthcare policy should be dictated by concern of others
BACKGROUND
In Colorado, Latinos have the highest uninsured rate of any racial/ethnic group. More than one-third (36 percent) of Latinos were uninsured in 2003-05, compared with 15 percent of non-Latino blacks and 12 percent of non-Latino whites.
Latinas in Colorado are affected by cervical cancer at a rate that is twice as high as the state average. The cervical cancer incidence rate for Latinas from 1998-2002 was 13.2 per 100,000 persons, compared to the average state incidence rate of 7.3 per 100,000. Latinas also die from cervical cancer at a rate that is nearly twice that of the state average.
Policy-Specific Recommendations
The Latina/o Advocacy Day Platform calls for access to healthcare and medication as a human right that must be affordable and accessible to all people. Our ultimate goal is for all people in Colorado to have access to healthcare services. A first step towards that goal is ensuring that all children have healthcare coverage, which the following bills work to achieve.
HB 1293: Colorado Healthcare Affordability Act
Sponsors: Sen. Keller & Reps. Riesberg and Ferrandino
This bill would assess a fee on hospitals and uses the revenue to obtain matching federal dollars. This money will be used to expand Medicaid and Childe Health Plan Plus (CHP+) and reduce uncompensated care and cost-shifting by increasing Medicaid and Colorado Indigent Care Program (CICP) reimbursement rates to hospitals.
Status: Introduced in the Senate. Assigned to Finance + Appropriations
Postion: Support
This bill will expand access to healthcare to more than 100,000 uninsured Coloradans. This financing strategy has already been used by more than 40 states. House Bill 1293 has already drawn bi-partisan support and has more than 20 organizational endorsers.
How to Get Involved in Healthcare Issues
Colorado Organization for Latina Opportunity and Reproductive Rights (COLOR) – info@colorlatina.org -303-393-0382
Colorado Consumer Health Initiative - 303-838-1261
Health Care for All Colorado – 303-277-8306
