But a state senator said adopting such a system would reduce health-care choice and put accessibility to health-care procedures in the hands of government bureaucrats.
Cory Carroll, M.D., and Sen. Shawn Mitchell, R-Broomfield, debated the pros and cons of the state moving to a single-payer system during the sixth annual HealthCare Summit hosted by the Northern Colorado Business Report at the Hilton Fort Collins.
Carroll, who has practiced family medicine at Foothills Family Care since 1991 and is the current president of the Larimer County Medical Society, said the private insurance-based system now in place in America is failing in a number of ways, including controlling health-care costs, increasing choice and access to health services and in improving health-care quality.
Carroll said the private insurance system in use in the United States since the 1930s has not fulfilled its promise of a healthier nation. "The biggest bane for me as a doctor is not the government but private insurance companies," he said.
Carroll noted that 47 million Americans - about one-sixth of the total population - do not have health insurance largely because they cannot afford it. That includes about 785,000 Coloradans of whom about 180,000 are children.
Carroll said the Medicare system offers universal coverage in a single-payer system but people have to wait until they're 65 to use it. "Why do we say you have to wait till you're 65 to have single-payer coverage? It's just not right."
Mitchell, who served three terms in the Colorado House of Representatives before being elected to the Senate and who has served on health committees in both bodies, acknowledged the current system needs some adjustment.
"We do have undeniable challenges and sprains in our health-care system," he said. "But is it a crisis? I say compared to what?"
Mitchell said a "better safety net" is needed for those who can't afford insurance but noted that Americans have more electronic gadgets and amusements than ever before in history and still complain about the cost of insurance while demanding the best treatment available.
Mitchell said other industrialized countries that have adopted national health care or single-payer systems don't offer the same level of health care as the American system offers, and that's what most Americans want.
"Access to a waiting list is not access to health care," he said. "If you have a serious health-care problem, you're twice as likely to die in a socialized system."
Carroll noted that countries like Japan, Britain and Canada with national health-care programs spend far less per capita on their health care costs than the United States. "A single-payer system will allow health-care costs to be controlled and predictable," he said. "We're not getting the value we really should be getting."
But Mitchell said national health-care systems tend to restrict access to care, which helps keep their per-capita costs down. "Who's going to make the decision that you're getting too much treatment and it has to stop?" he said.
But Carroll said the only way a truly free market-based health care system will work is for a much crueler system to be implemented. "For a free-market system to succeed, those who cannot pay don't get care," he said.
The HealthCare Summit featured two discussion sessions on health-care issues: A review of health-related legislation passed in this year's General Assembly session, and a look at health-care cost drivers and solutions.
During the lunch session, Colorado State University economist Martin Shields presented his report on the role of health care and social assistance in Larimer County's economy, predicting that about 2,000 new jobs will be added between 2007 and 2010 to address growing health-care demands.
The summit, which drew about 150 people, also featured remarks by Steve Summer, Colorado Hospital Association president and CEO, and this year's Health-Care Hero awards.
Awards were presented to:
- Anheuser-Busch Brewery employee wellness program, Business Award
- North Fort Collins Business Association's Project Smile, Community Service Award
- Jennifer Cobb, Emergency Services manager at Poudre Valley Hospital, Emergency Services Award
- Rick Sutton, McKee Medical Center CEO, Professional Award
- Maggi Basinger, R.N., Clinical Manager of Orthopedics and Neurosciences at North Colorado Medical Center, Support Services Award
- Glenn Pearson, M.D., Volunteer Award
- Michael Fangman, M.D., Distinguished Service Award
