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Gov. Jared Polis explains plans to cut health care costs at town hall

Posted at 9:55 PM, Feb 16, 2019
and last updated 2019-02-17 21:32:44-05

PUEBLO – State Representative Daneya Esgar and State Senator Leroy Garcia kicked off a town hall about health care in their hometown alongside Governor Jared Polis.

“He really covered a lot and you know, having the representatives and the governor all there, they can cover a lot of basis,” said Barbara Burch, a Pueblo resident.

Polis highlighted three bipartisan bills aim at lowering health care costs.

The first bill aims to widen the scope of practice for EMS workers so they can provide care under a doctor’s guidance.

This prevents fees stemming from an out-of-network doctor treating a patient inside an in-network hospital.

The second bill involves importing licensed drugs from Canada at a cheaper rate.

The third is a bill that would allow Colorado to apply for waivers for specified provisions of the Affordable Care Act.

“[The bill takes] the very highest cost cases in the exchange and puts some cost controls in there to put them in a common insurance pool to prevent them from driving up any one plan,” Governor Polis explained to the crowd.

The conversation is bringing together major players to work towards solutions.

“It takes all three of those for that to become law,” said Polis in an interview.

Polis says though these bills still have some steps to go, he wants their bipartisan support to lead by example and help counter political struggles in Washington, D.C.